An Antitrust Investigation into Google

Image taken from Simon Steinberger 

The tech giant Google is being investigated for violating antitrust laws by attorneys general from 48 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. Prior to hearing of the antitrust investigation into Google in an article by CBS News, I honestly had never heard of antitrust laws. Ironically, I turned to Google to learn a little more about what antitrust is, and why the laws are in place.

According to William Markham, a San Diego Attorney who has experience trying similar cases, antitrust laws "seek to promote competitive markets." The laws essentially are in place to avoid one company from monopolizing the market. So how is Google limiting competition? According to the CBS News article, investigators are looking to see if Google is dominating the "online advertising market and in internet searches."

I am not really surprised that Google is being investigated for dominating the advertising market. I am sure we have all experienced searching for something, and then within minutes, even seconds, an advertisement pops up for the same product. The idea of having advertisements tailored to what we 'want' to see has become a part of our lives. I never considered that this could be a form of dominating or monopolizing the market. However, it does make a lot of sense.

Lastly, I do not see an easy solution to this problem. If Google is found guilty of violating antitrust laws, I believe it will take a long time to solve the problem because Google is the most dominant search engine. Additionally, Steve Lohr of the New York Times claims antitrust investigations "can take years." It looks like we will not have a solution to this investigation for a long time. However, this probe into Google can serve as a reminder for consumers to look beyond the first things that pop up in a search.