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In the United States, several states this week filed two lawsuits against the tech giant Google. And last week, Facebook became the center of attention of the judiciary: the social platform also faced a lawsuit.
Deep down, there is always the same accusation: Google or Facebook are monopolists in certain markets and are exploiting their market power, crowding out or eliminating competitors altogether. For example when searching on the Internet, online advertising or in the area of social networks.
Lawsuits with notice
There are complaints that have been made in Europe for years, which have already resulted in several fines worth billions. In the US, these EU buses were often seen as an attack on successful American tech companies. So now the demands are coming from the US authorities themselves and they are not unexpected.
In the tech industry, criticism of the big rulers has grown louder in recent years. Politicians listened to these criticisms, so the heads of the big tech multinationals were often summoned to Washington for hearings. It was also about the monopoly of corporations.
At the same time, the US authorities investigated, for example, allegations that Google was exploiting its market power in the field of online advertising. Investigations that have now led to the trials that have been released and that are being disputed by technology groups.
The EU issues new rules of the game
As the US authorities complain, the EU is already going one step further, just this week launching new rules for big tech groups. Invoices designed to allow greater control.
For years, Google and Facebook managed to expand in the digital space with virtually no restrictions and thus consolidate their market power. However, new laws in the EU and more recent lawsuits in the US are likely to change Big Tech’s starting position. And even before the laws come into force and the judges hand final sentences.
Greater variety of offers?
A retrospective look shows that the lawsuits against IBM in the 1980s or the lawsuits against Microsoft in the 1990s influenced the development of these companies. The multinationals of the new technology are already considering acquisitions, agreements or changes in the conditions of the users more critically.
But what does that mean for users who daily google or exchange information on Facebook’s social networks? Almost nothing will change for them in the short term.
However, in the longer term, the involvement of large companies could have positive effects if, for example, a greater variety of powerful search engines were created on the Internet or new social networks spread.
And that is exactly the purpose of the lawsuits that have just been filed in the United States.
Samuel Emch
SRF Business Editor
