The Google Vs. DOJ Dust Up in Pictures
August 7, 2024
This essay is the work of a dinobaby. Unlike some folks, no smart software improved my native ineptness.
The Google came out of its monopoly matter with an opportunity to appeal. The US Department of Justice after decades of foot dragging figured out that Google was quite a frisky creature when it came to making sure it was going to make a buck. The legal proceedings were complicated, and I certainly don’t understand why Googzilla is in trouble for doing what the company’s leadership over the year have been doing; namely, following the game plan to ensure that people were dazzled by free services and happy colors. In 2024, the sparklies were dissipating, and the Google as a calculating predator became evident.
I read the decision, some articles by poohbahs about the decision, and I listened to extemporaneous commentary about the decision on podcasts. The most useful write up I spotted is “Why Google Lost: The DoJ’s Case in 11 Slides.” This is a good overview, and I will have to wait until a snappy TikTok video about the case appears to get the message in a more concise manner.
I don’t want to present the 11 slides in this blog post. I can, however, highlight three slides which I found interesting.
The first slide I noted is this mobile market share slide. Google only has 84 percent share of desktop searches, but it has 98 percent of the mobile queries. Now I know why Google paid Apple to make Google the default search system in Safari. Those iPhone users have deeper pockets than most Android phone users. So I interpreted the slide to say, “Yep, we’re are buying the default because most mobile phone users cannot change a light bulb and they won’t change the default search engine.”
The second slide of interest to me is this one:
The key point in this slide is that Google’s magic from from users. Keeping users in the Google dataplex means Google is going to have a greater advantage in the “magical” department. Google logs what users do, and the Google uses those data to make money from advertisers, subscribers to its for-fee services, and by having truckloads of eyeballs to convince everyone that Google is where the action is. For me, Google is the action in a way the casino is for the vacationers.
The third slide provides insight into Google’s playbook for deciding what to do. Get this:
Google could ignore traditional economics and almost anything else that hindered the big friendly online advertising creature. I call Google Googzilla because the company is so darned cute, objective, and magisterial. Those are qualities which may have been under appreciated by the judge. However, I am confident that Googzilla will recover from this modest setback.
Google may moan and groan today, but everything is going to be more Googley tomorrow. Thanks, Microsoft Copilot. I understand that everyone is working on security today. I thought that was already happening. Guess I was incorrect again.
Google is likely to benefit from this decision? How you may ask? If you did not ask, I will share my personal thoughts. My blog posts are free and I don’t beg for dollars, spam, or have a Patreon page.
- Google can appeal in an election year. A new president may upend the Department of Justice staff pushing this legal matter. If that happens, it is business as usual for the Google.
- The appeal may overturn the negative verdict. Google has not harmed a consumer. A few loser online services bit the dust, but what do you think will happen in the AI sector? Many flowers can bloom but most of them rely on Google’s transformer technology. Ho ho ho unless a start up gets bought out, most will fail fail fail. Google just watches the decision disintegrate.
- Google saves money. If Google cannot buy clicks, the company will find another way to maintain traffic to its search magnets. For instance, Google could make search work again. Also, Google could innovate, something that the company has not been able to do since everyone is busy counting money, protesting, or playing Foosball. Those billions once tagged for Apple and Samsung can be put to more productive use. Heck, maybe Dodgeball will be reinvented or Google Maps made to work again.
Net net: Google may shed a few tears, grouse to friendly recipients of campaign donations, and write Googley blog posts. But Googzilla will recover and continue to grow. Heck, the beastie is not even 30 years old.
Stephen E Arnold, August 7, 2024
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