Glenn Gabe’s Post

Will fairer competition be good for small businesses banking heavily on Google's continued success? Yesterday's news will have impact today, tomorrow, and for weeks and years to come not just on major technology firms that have sought partnerships like Google did with Apple to maintain its dominance in the search engine market. This is especially the case if Google does not appeal the ruling and win. If the ruling stands, it will inevitably cause a ripple effect resulting in connected capabilities like Google Ads, Google for Business reviews, and others in what has been a bluer ocean with less competition to one that is now seeing some red with more competition. Google would have to consider how to compete further with the likes of Microsoft and its Bing search engine among others, since the ruling would favor more competition. That noted, Google's exceptionally strong brand and "to google" easily interchangeable with "to search for something using an online search engine" may be what keeps it dominant until the competition comes up with a major killer feature, and Microsoft's partnership with OpenAI in using ChatGPT with Bing could eventually shift the landscape much faster. The court's decision is not final as Google could appeal the ruling, but those whose businesses rely on Google's dominance must keep their eyes and ears open for updates. How might this affect small businesses in the short term vs the long term? What do you think? #antitrust #competition #technology #search #monopoly

While the anti-trust ruling against Google is significant, no one should immediately presume that the era of Big Tech dominance is over, or that Big Tech itself is coming under attach. We should remember that in 2004, when Google went public, Microsoft settled its antitrust case with the US Government. We should remember also that Microsoft got its boost from othe winding up of IBM’s antitrust case with the US Government. Assuming the US Government ultimately prevails in this case (the appeals rounds are just beginning), the question will be which vendor will step into Google’s spot. Will Apple become the uber-Tech company, as a latter-day IBM? Will ChatGPT exploit the vacuum to push AI fully into the mainstream of computing? Regardless of who displaces Google, the outcome has already been determined: meet the new boss, same as the old boss. https://lnkd.in/gjqMVpwb

In the case of US vs #Google, this antitrust bust has implications for future generative AI models. With both behavioral and structural remedies to break up the monopoly, this may be a step in the right directions to control market dominance. With LLM and the implementation of AI in many of our products, it might be a longer process to prove data mining and copyright infringement, how societal impact looks to ensure fairness, and the reliance of such companies to continue business and societal functions. So though it is a small win in the larger scheme of things, the idea of changing terms and conditions without ample notice or explanation, consumer privacy and rights of digital assets and ownership, as well as the proliferation of AI and ML dictating many things in our lives without our knowledge, I’m afraid this may come a bit late considering where we are at today. Let’s not forget #microsoft recall integration a “glitch” attempt for further survelliance, copilot being integrated into their product line without proper opt-in consent, and the massive bills being passed on to consumers for compute power and scraping of the websites in the case of Claude, AWS service. If they own the infrastructure and our data, are we really governing them or we just playing cat and mouse with both our hands tied behind our backs? Antitrust ruling: https://lnkd.in/drwEsMVj Microsoft recall feature is a “glitch” https://lnkd.in/d6KwuVr8 https://lnkd.in/daPkY3Tq Claude scraps and leaves website with the AWS bill (amount other ai scraping bots) https://lnkd.in/dg7jiSvP

The US federal court decision in Google establishes a near consensus view among global regulators of #competitionlaw that the most fundamental aspects of the Internet economy are unlawfully monopolised. Search is degraded and AI is not the technology that is likely to disrupt Google's search monopoly. It seems that we need a very different architecture for #digitalmarkets. Can competition law provide necessary solutions?

A federal judge's historic decision Monday declaring Google a monopoly is the strongest sign yet that the Google Age of the internet has run its course. Google isn't going anywhere, and it will remain a digital Goliath — but its ability to set and control the agenda for the tech industry's future is waning. Fighting an antitrust suit always takes money and time — but even more important, it's distracting for both executives and employees. Losing an antitrust trial brings the likelihood of new constraints on a company's freedom of action, with the prospect of court-imposed rules and the addition of lawyers into the product development mix. The Justice Department's landmark 1998 Microsoft antitrust suit distracted and slowed the company from dominating the rapidly growing internet the way it had led the personal computing era. Google was founded the same year. This time around, Google is the industry leader, AI is the new platform, and upstarts like OpenAI are vying to take the initiative. Progress in tech has always depended on this cycle of upstarts challenging incumbents and eventually becoming the new dominant force. But for the past decade this process has felt frozen, with no hope of newcomers challenging Big Tech's five giants — Google, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon and Meta. AI runs on data, and data is what Google has spent the last quarter-century accumulating — giving the company enormous, persistent power that it is not shy of wielding. Judge Amit Mehta's decision centers on Google's use of its clout in the search market to elbow competitors aside. That means the penalties he imposes will likely center on that part of its business. Still, a creative set of judicial remedies could also limit Google's ability to capitalize on its search users' data — or even find ways to require the company to open its data trove to rivals. What's next: Google has said it will appeal the ruling, and it's fairly common for complex antitrust decisions like this one to be overturned — as much of the judgment against Microsoft was 20 years ago. Meanwhile, in a second phase of the trial, the judge will decide what kind of remedy to impose on Google — which could range from limited rules governing its conduct to a broad effort to break up the company. A second major antitrust suit against Google — covering its massive ad-tech business — goes to trial this fall. Lawsuits over tech monopolies more often end in technicalities than in drama. But they can also push the industry to evolve in new ways. Monday's decision is well-positioned to add legal force and policy depth to the disruptive currents AI has already unleashed. That might be enough to crack open the long locked-up search market.

🚨 Historic Move Against Google 🚨 Top antitrust officials from the U.S. Justice Department are pushing for a historic action by asking a federal judge to force Google to sell off its Chrome browser, in what could be one of the most significant crackdowns on Big Tech in history. This comes after a ruling in August that found Google guilty of illegally monopolizing the search market. The Justice Department is also seeking changes related to artificial intelligence and Google's Android operating system, alongside potential data licensing requirements to curb the tech giant's dominance. Here’s the kicker: This case was initiated during the first Trump administration, but the legal battle is continuing into the Biden era. So, despite Trump’s anticipated pro-tech stance in his re-election the case could survive under his second term. The big question now is whether this effort will reshape the future of antitrust laws and set a new precedent in regulating the tech giants. #Antitrust #BigTech #Google #TechRegulation #AI #Trump #Biden #MarketMonopoly

The recent antitrust case against Google has reignited discussions about the dominance of Big Tech companies. Judge Amit Mehta branded Google a “monopolist”, considering that the company controls over 91% of the global search engine traffic, and the closest rival – Microsoft’s Bing, accounts for just 6%. For the last decades, the EU Commission has attempted to curb Google’s market power, though the multibillion-dollar sanctions have not harmed the tech giant. Will this lawsuit also prove to be too little, too late to alter the trajectory of its supremacy? During the research for my master’s thesis, I explored the concept of the halo of invincibility around Big Tech companies, highlighting the importance of the regulatory void in which these organizations have thrived. In fact, I deep-dived on the US Antitrust framework based on consumer welfare, which has tolerated corporate growth regardless of its width or scale. Today, Big Tech organizations seem indeed too big to fail, although according to the Financial Times the potential remedies the DOJ might propose range from restricting exclusive agreements (like the $20 billion deal with Apple to make Google the default search engine) to even breaking up parts of the company. After smooth sailing for nearly 20 years, there is an uncomfortable air of unpredictability around Google. Should the organization be slowed down? Or is this case a backward-looking perspective, especially in light of the emerging threat that generative AI and chatbots like SearchGPT will pose to traditional search engines?

🚨 Major Antitrust Ruling on Google Search 🚨 The legal landscape around Big Tech is evolving rapidly, and Google's dominance has recently become a point of contention. A recent ruling highlights the ongoing concerns about monopolistic practices that could be stifling innovation, and sets a precedent for the regulation of tech giants. ✨ Key takeaways: - The Judge ruled that Google violated anti-trust laws, controlling 90% of the #SearchIndustry. - In 2021, Google paid 26.3 billion dollars to maintain dominance. - This investigation was opened by the Trump administration, and a new trial will determine the penalty. How do you think BigTech companies should be regulated to ensure fair competition and equity? Leave your thoughts below! Read the full WIRED article: #HumancentricAI #TechRegulation #Antitrust #Google #AI #Innovation

https://lnkd.in/g-2gTi3S In a landmark decision, Judge Amit Mehta ruled that Google has violated US antitrust laws by maintaining a monopoly in the search and advertising markets. This is a significant victory for the Department of Justice, underscoring Google's dominance in "general search services" and "general search text advertising." While the ruling marks an essential step towards fostering competition and innovation, the future implications for Google's business practices are still to be determined. Potential outcomes range from mandated changes in their business practices to a possible breakup of their search operations. Google plans to appeal, but this decision sets a critical precedent for other tech giants facing similar scrutiny, including Amazon, Apple, and Meta. Bring on SearchGPT! Such a search engine could potentially offer more intelligent, personalized, and efficient search results by understanding and processing natural language queries more effectively than traditional search engines. #Antitrust #TechNews #Innovation #Competition