The filing of a landmark antitrust lawsuit against Google by the Department of Justice (DOJ) last week represents the “first-strike” at the Google-Apple alliance. It also signaled that US lawmakers’ concerns were intensifying as the Nov. 3 presidential election approaches.
There has been an ongoing “tech-lash” and intense scrutiny on Silicon Valley. And the big tech platforms are fighting back trying to fend off regulators and legislation with a sustained lobbying campaign and a unique ability to control the news and influence thinking around the world.
The suit claims that Google is “unlawfully maintaining monopolies through anticompetitive and exclusionary practices in the search and search advertising markets” and aims to stop Google “to remedy the competitive harms.”
With the Google-Apple alliance, every web search on an iPhone, or from other devices, default straight to Google. Although a user has the option to change to an alternative search engine like Microsoft Bing most don’t bother.
