The DOJ sues Google, wants to break company up (opens in new tab)

(arstechnica.com)

33 pointsrandorand03y ago19 comments

19 comments

The DoJ didn't break up Microsoft, which is much more of a monopoly. If they break up Google, they're just doing Microsoft a big favor.

pil4rin3y ago

How is Microsoft more of a monopoly than Google?

bediger40003y ago

Which business isn't locked in to Word, PowerPoint and Excel? Why is Windows compatibility so important? What OS does virtually every desktop computer run? Microsoft has an almost total monopoly on these things.

rbanffy3y ago

Microsoft pretty much owns the de-facto standard for PC operating system, office applications, e-mail, calendar... And use that to extend itself beyond with services such as Office 365, SharePoint, PowerBI, etc.

I'd guess far more established companies go with hosted Microsoft apps than Google's.

1 more reply

leros3y ago

Is there an example of a company like Google getting broken up? It sounds like a nightmare from a technical point of view. Microservices from different divisions all using each other. Numerous divisions at Google sharing internal tools. All sorts of stuff that seems difficult to tease apart.

cglong3y ago

I guess AT&T is a good classic example. This article should be a good starting point for details: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breakup_of_the_Bell_System

euroderf3y ago

One will want to see what Matt Stoller[1] will have to say about this.

[1] https://mattstoller.substack.com

RobotCaleb3y ago

Why would one? One does not even know the guy

sinuhe693y ago

I wonder why people at the helm of Google still seem to support Democrats. Didn’t they buy enough lobby or they didn’t see it coming?

rbanffy3y ago

A bit tongue-in-cheek, but sometimes people put their nation's welfare above their company's.

ss1083y ago

Is this really your mental model of how the world works?

Not to mention that beef with bigtech is bipartisan. But antitrust moves like this are not the preferred tool of the right; coercive type stuff like the legislation in FL and TX is

sylware3y ago

First, big tech corps should not be own/steered by the same network of ppl, aka blackrock/vanguard.

alphabet(google)=msft=apple=starbucks=etc...

One other angle is to regulate them stronguely via interop with technically simple, but able to do a good enough job, and stable in time protocols/software.

For instance, tons of google services can work with a noscript/basic (x)html browsers, games from msft own studios should seriously run on lean elf/linux distros, etc.

sylware3y ago

well, maybe not linux since its userspace ABIs are not at all stable (evolution of symbols and versions from the glibc is close to the speed of light).

randorand0OP3y ago

I guess it's no biggie, just move it out of the G and put it in the D of their Alphabet corporation

pr337h4m3y ago

If anyone wants to break Google up, they're free to buy the company with their own money and do as they please

stjohnswarts3y ago

The US government can also break them up. That's why we have a government, to provide infrastructure and protect the common good of the people over uber corporations, amongst other things.

simple-thoughts3y ago

Google is a licensed corporation and as such is owned by USG. The shareholders of Google only have rights as far as USG is willing to grant those rights to the shareholders. They do not own the company.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

19 comments

bediger40003y ago

The DoJ didn't break up Microsoft, which is much more of a monopoly. If they break up Google, they're just doing Microsoft a big favor.

pil4rin3y ago

How is Microsoft more of a monopoly than Google?

bediger40003y ago

rbanffy3y ago

I'd guess far more established companies go with hosted Microsoft apps than Google's.

1 more reply

leros3y ago

cglong3y ago

I guess AT&T is a good classic example. This article should be a good starting point for details: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breakup_of_the_Bell_System

euroderf3y ago

One will want to see what Matt Stoller[1] will have to say about this.

[1] https://mattstoller.substack.com

RobotCaleb3y ago

Why would one? One does not even know the guy

sinuhe693y ago

I wonder why people at the helm of Google still seem to support Democrats. Didn’t they buy enough lobby or they didn’t see it coming?

rbanffy3y ago

A bit tongue-in-cheek, but sometimes people put their nation's welfare above their company's.

ss1083y ago

Is this really your mental model of how the world works?

Not to mention that beef with bigtech is bipartisan. But antitrust moves like this are not the preferred tool of the right; coercive type stuff like the legislation in FL and TX is

sylware3y ago

First, big tech corps should not be own/steered by the same network of ppl, aka blackrock/vanguard.

alphabet(google)=msft=apple=starbucks=etc...

One other angle is to regulate them stronguely via interop with technically simple, but able to do a good enough job, and stable in time protocols/software.

For instance, tons of google services can work with a noscript/basic (x)html browsers, games from msft own studios should seriously run on lean elf/linux distros, etc.

sylware3y ago

well, maybe not linux since its userspace ABIs are not at all stable (evolution of symbols and versions from the glibc is close to the speed of light).

randorand0OP3y ago

I guess it's no biggie, just move it out of the G and put it in the D of their Alphabet corporation

pr337h4m3y ago

If anyone wants to break Google up, they're free to buy the company with their own money and do as they please

stjohnswarts3y ago

The US government can also break them up. That's why we have a government, to provide infrastructure and protect the common good of the people over uber corporations, amongst other things.

simple-thoughts3y ago

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse