Big tech

The ‘antitrust’ law suit launched by US authorities against Google has been reported as a potential turning point in the dominance of Big Tech — and an echo of the courtroom dramas that diminished the excessive power of America’s late 19th-century oil, steel and railroad barons. But I wonder how much impact it will really have.The allegation, in brief, is that Google has created an illegal near-monopoly by paying large sums to Apple and other smartphone makers to secure its position as the default search engine for billions of consumers, its grip reinforced by ownership of Android, the phone operating system, and Chrome, the popular browser — all of which also gives it a stranglehold on the digital advertising market.

Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee are releasing their own report on Big Tech on Tuesday, countering a Democratic report that they accuse of being too radical in its antitrust proposals. The Democrats' draft report, which leaked on Twitter earlier in the day, accused Big Tech companies of engaging in anti-competitive behavior and called for a massive antitrust shakeup of the industry, including preventing Google from owning YouTube and prohibiting Amazon from selling its own products on its marketplace platform. Rep. Ken Buck called these proposals 'non-starters for conservatives'. The Republicans' report, which is signed by Ranking Member Jim Jordan and Reps.