Google Antitrust Case: Breaking Up Big Tech is a Bad Idea

Published on: September 10, 2024 - Ever heard of a business model when the buyer, the seller, and the platform on which buyers and sellers transact – is all the same entity? Well, that’s the latest allegation against Google’s ad-tech business in the ongoing antitrust case in the US. US Justice Department says that the two-trillion-dollar worth tech giant has built, acquired, and maintains a monopoly in the digital advertising space – in effect, killing competition at every stage of the value chain. It is this very dominance that has made Google (read Alphabet) a darling of Wall Street. Since its listing over a decade ago, the stock has surged from under $28 apiece, to a high of over $183 in June this year. And why not? Google’s ad business earns it 36 cents for every one dollar that an advertiser spends on its platforms. But Google disagrees with the allegations of being a monopoly. The company’s lawyer says that the case against it is based on a gone by era of the internet being restricted to the www websites, aka first generation internet. Today, it argues, advertisers flock to other social media platforms like TikTok and streaming platforms like Peacock in the US to reach their customers – where Google has no role to play – leave alone it being a monopoly. News9’s Kartik Malhotra explains why splitting Google up may be a bad idea for the US.