by Tyler Durden
Thu, 09/03/2020 - 15:35
The Department of Justice will is
preparing to slap Google with an antitrust case over the next several weeks,
according to the New York Times - which insists, based on five sources, that Attorney
General Bill Barr "overruled career lawyers who said they needed more time
to build a strong case against one of the world’s wealthiest, most formidable
technology companies."
The Times is suggesting, based on
leaks, that Barr is rushing the case for political purposes and the charges are
premature.
The
Google case could also give Mr. Trump and Mr. Barr an election-season
achievement on an issue that both Democrats and
Republicans see as a major problem: the influence of the biggest tech companies
over consumers and the possibility that their business practices have stifled
new competitors and hobbled legacy industries like telecom and media. -NYT
Some 40 lawyers working on a DOJ antitrust inquiry into Google
parent Alphabet were reportedly told to wrap up their work by the end of this
month, according to three of the five leakers, who
we're guessing are part of the 40-lawyer team - as "most of the 40-odd
lawyers who had been working on the investigation opposed the deadline."
Others said they would not sign the complaint, while several left the case over
the summer.
Some argued this summer in a memo that ran hundreds of pages
that they could bring a strong case but needed more time, according to people
who described the document. Disagreement persisted among the team over how
broad the complaint should be and what Google could do to resolve the problems
the government uncovered. The lawyers viewed the deadline as arbitrary.
While there were disagreements about tactics, career lawyers
also expressed concerns that Mr. Barr wanted to announce the case in September
to take credit for action against a powerful tech company under the Trump
administration.
But Mr. Barr felt that the department had moved too slowly and
that the deadline was not unreasonable, according to a senior Justice
Department official. -NYT
Barr has shown a "deep interest" in the Google
investigation, requesting regular briefings on
the DOJ case, and "taking thick binders of information about it on trips
and vacations and returning with ideas and notes."
The Times notes that antitrust
action against Google has bipartisan support from a coalition of 50 states and
territories, though Democrats and Republican state attorneys general conducting
their own investigations are split on how to move forward.
Republicans have accused Democrats of slow-walking the work in
order to bring charges under a potential Biden administration, while Democrats
have accused Republicans of wanting Trump to receive credit - a disagreement
which could limit the number of states participating in prosecuting the Silicon
Valley giant.
When the Justice Department opened its inquiry into Alphabet in
June 2019, career lawyers in the antitrust division were eager to take part.
Some within the division described it as the case of the century, on par with
the breakup of Standard Oil after the Gilded Age. It also offered a chance for
the United States to catch up to European regulators who had been aggressive
watchdogs of the technology sector.
Alphabet
was an obvious antitrust target. Through YouTube, Google search, Google Maps
and a suite of online advertising products, consumers interact with the company
nearly every time they search for information, watch a video, hail a ride,
order delivery in an app or see an ad online. Alphabet then
improves its products based on the information it gleans from every user
interaction, making its technology even more dominant. -NYT
According to the report, Google controls roughly 90% of
web searches worldwide, and has been accused of unfair
practices because its search and browsing tools are standard on phones with its
Android operating system. They also dominate online advertising -
capturing about 1/3 of every dollar spent.
Three people familiar with the case say the DOJ has compiled "powerful evidence of anticompetitive
practices."
Read the rest of the report here.
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