Google’s Breakup Avoidance Signals a New AI Antitrust Era
Google avoided a breakup as AI emerged as a legitimate search alternative. Lawmakers must be more forward-looking about AI to avoid overreaching antitrust laws and maintain American competitiveness.
Per the courts, Google’s search engine business is indeed a monopoly. But the long-anticipated political crusade to break up tech giants—echoing Theodore Roosevelt’s battle with Standard Oil—has not materialized. Google has escaped the “nuclear option” pursued by the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division (DOJ) that would have forced it to spin off its search business into a separate company. Instead, recognizing the dynamic change that artificial intelligence (AI) is bringing to the internet, the courts have opted for a more measured remedy: open the market to greater competitiveness without detonating the company itself.
Search Exclusivity Agreements Banned
Google will continue to operate Chrome, Android, and its many other businesses. But its once-lucrative search........
© The National Interest
