The lawsuit alleges that Google has effectively locked out the competition via a number of business deals. In effect, this makes the company sort of the gatekeeper to the internet for consumers. This is especially the case for mobile users, as justice officials say Chrome is preloaded and cannot be deleted.
— Google Public Policy (@googlepubpolicy) October 20, 2020 Of course, Google counters this by saying that people use its services because they choose to, rather than because they have to. The company also says that, should the lawsuit go through, it will only prop up lower quality alternatives. It will also end up raising phone prices, the company claims. At any rate, with the suit filed just yesterday, it will take a very long time before it gets resolved. The Guardian reports that attorney-generals across the US are investigating the company separately from the justice department. The latter is also conducting another investigation into the internet search giant’s ad-tech practices. (Source: Google, The Guardian)
