So, is Google a Monopoly?
In recent weeks, the US Justice Department has been taking ever closer looks at Google and, in particular their settlement with publishers and authors over Google’s Book Search. This has once again raised the ever thorny question of whether or not Google is a Monopoly and, if so, what can be done about it?
Well, the answer to question one is basically a resounding yes, Google’s domination of the search marketing world is so complete now that they really do have full control of the industry, far eclipsing both Yahoo and MSN. The question is whether Google have played by the rules or not in getting to that position. If it’s deemed that they have, then there’s really nothing anyone can do and Google really are that rarest of things – a natural monopoly. If not however, they could be opening themselves up to the kind of antitrust trouble that Microsoft got themselves into at the end of 90s.
Personally I think the first option is the more likely. Google haven’t really abused their position of power to unfairly hamper their competitors, also, they tend to keep their software open and compatible with other formats, something that Microsoft decidedly don’t do and continue to get punished for. The most important point in the debate is that, as Google are so fond of saying, ‘competition is just a click away.’ Internet users can use Live Search or Yahoo any time they like.
It’s simply not Google’s fault that their competitors have failed to come up with a product capable of competing with theirs and almost every step of the way they’ve been a lot fairer to their competition than they could have been. To punish them for just being better would be grossly unfair.
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