It is not new that many nations have targeted big multinational companies like Google and Facebook earlier for their exceptional market power. Google has become the main target of many states this time for the offensive revolt against Big Tech. On 7th July, attorney generals from thirty-six states and the District of Columbia filed an antitrust lawsuit which targets Google’s Play Store. This is the fourth major antitrust lawsuit that the US government officials have charged Goggle with in the past ten months. The US states are targeting Play Store this time which is the power hub of any Android device in order to download applications.
The Antitrust Lawsuit
The complaint launched against Google constitutes 144 pages and it was filed late on Wednesday. All the nations have filed the lawsuit together in a Northern California federal court against Google. Several attacks on a large tech conglomerate like Google will begin to form a stale relationship between the US nations and the company and most of the time common people become the victim of such battles. People are immensely dependent on the services and products provided by Google’s Play Store and any disruption of these services would cause a huge loss for the Android users and more.
Also, the lawsuit filed against Google also comes as a backdrop of proposed laws in Congress curated in a way that will either break up or undermine the massive power of the company (The Indian Express). Though the antitrust lawsuit of yesterday has been filed against Google, the target here is every giant tech company like Google, Apple, Amazon and Facebook that holds unfathomable power in the market. Each of these four companies have built a trillion-dollar market due to the huge popularity of their services and a huge fraction of the population using it.
Reason for Filing Lawsuit
The recent lawsuit resembles the one filed by Epic, mobile game maker voicing against both Google and Apple. Epic raised the concern about the control that Google exerts on the Play Store. It mentioned that Google collects commission for up to 30 percent for digital transactions taking place in these apps that are run on Android and installed by the users. And, these Android users accounts for almost 80 percent of the total smartphone market. Epic has filed against both Apple and Google but the trial with Google is still awaiting.
The commission charged by Google is similar to the terms of Apple but Google also allows its customers to download applications from other sites apart from Play Store. But, Apple users can strictly install apps only from its store and no other outlets. But, the lawsuit filed yesterday specifically mentions that it seems like Google’s android software is an open operating system but in real life it doesn’t allow customers with much choices.
Allegations Against Google’s Play Store
The complaint says that over the years Google has deployed many tactics to create unhealthy competition. Google made sure that it distributes more than 90 percent app on these Android devices which according to the nations is an illegal monopoly. The government officials says that it is hurting the developers of these apps who have less resources to innovate. Sean Reyes, Utah Attorney General has said that Google’s monopoly is creating a havoc in the marketplace as it is harming small businesses and consumers.
In response to all these allegations Google didn’t instantly respond to a request for a lawsuit. But, Google has been targeted by multiple nations in the past one year and it is defending itself confidently in each case. The concerns have grown against the dominant power of its search engine as well as its digital network that generates more than $100 billion revenue for Alphabet Inc. Previously in response to how small businesses were getting affected by 30 percent commission cut, Google reduced it to 15 percent for the first $1 million revenue. But, even after doing so the situation didn’t cool down and several nations are still trying to dilute the power of these four biggest companies.
Annasha Dey is an NIT student, who apart from studying engineering is also a content writer. She has a great interest in photography, writing, reading novels, and travelling as well. She is a foodie who loves socializing and hanging out with her friends. She is also a trained Kathak dancer and a big fashion enthusiast. Dey also loves watching TV series, which includes F.R.I.E.N.D.S. and Big Bang Theory. To be a better writer she prefers to read more