Illustrative image of the Google logo at the Vivatech trade fair in Paris.

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ALAIN JOCARD / AFP

  • The US government on Tuesday launched a lawsuit against Google for abuse of dominance.

  • A procedure that could have serious consequences for the future of the digital giant, which several American elected officials want to dismantle.

  • "Justice could force Google to abandon certain activities and keep only its search engine, for example," said Francis Bloch, professor at the Panthéon-Sorbonne University and the Paris School of Economics.

In 1998, it was just a start-up starting in California.

Over the years, Google has taken root everywhere in our lives: on our phones, in our homes and even in our everyday vocabulary (“I had to Googling!”).

Until reaching more than 90% of the American market.

This omnipresence, denounced for several years, led the United States on Tuesday to file a complaint against the American giant for abuse of a dominant position.

Even if the procedure should last for years, it could spell the end of Google as we know it.

Explanations.

What is the complaint about?

Concretely, the complaint, filed by the Ministry of Justice and 11 states, targets the Google search engine, installed by default on many devices and browsers (including Chrome and Android, the group's mobile operating system, dominant in the world).

The plaintiffs also accuse the digital giant of forcing consumers and advertisers to use its services through mobile apps that cannot be erased on Android (like Google Maps), which significantly restricts competition.

“Every business must respect the rules of trade.

But when it reaches a certain size, it is also asked to preserve the functioning of the market, ”recalls Jean-Baptiste Soufron, lawyer specializing in digital technology and former secretary general of the National Digital Council.

“It cannot use its size to prevent new businesses from developing in their industry.

This is what is being denounced today: if you want to provide the same services as Google, you risk being put in difficulty by Google itself, ”he explains.

How has Google reacted?

Wrong.

And even very badly, if we are to believe the press release published in the wake of the announcement of the complaint.

"People use Google by choice and not because they are forced or do not find alternatives," defended Kent Walker, a vice president of the Mountain View group after calling the complaint "dubious" .

“These lawsuits will do nothing to help consumers.

On the contrary, they will artificially promote poorer quality search engines, and push up the prices of telephones, ”he concluded.

Today's lawsuit by the Department of Justice is deeply flawed.

People use Google because they choose to - not because they're forced to or because they can't find alternatives.

We will have a full statement this morning.

- Google Public Policy (@googlepubpolicy) October 20, 2020

Why is the timing of this complaint controversial?

Even if the announcement was welcomed on the left, some have criticized the plaintiffs, all Republicans, for having announced the filing of this complaint less than two weeks before the American elections, scheduled for November 3.

These lawsuits were "rushed on the eve of an election where the administration is aggressively pressuring tech companies to act in its favor," notes Matt Schruers of the Computer & Communications Industry Association, a group close to the big names in the sector.

“Competition law should be driven by the interests of consumers and not by political motives.

"

What could be the consequences for Google?

Going to court could cost Google dearly.

The plaintiffs call for "structural" changes in the California company.

Understand: a possible dismantling of parts of the leader in online research.

"Justice could force Google to abandon certain activities and keep only its search engine, for example," said Francis Bloch, professor at the Panthéon-Sorbonne University and the Paris School of Economics.

Especially since in the United States, there are precedents: in 1982, the company Bell, telecommunications giant, had been broken into several regional entities.

In 1998, Microsoft was singled out for the same reasons as Google.

The ministry had almost succeeded in dismantling the company, but the procedure had resulted in an amicable settlement.

“This trial is a matter of life and death for Google.

Not so much for the service itself, which will continue to be provided, but for its free economic model on the one hand, paying on the other, ”explains Jean-Baptiste Soufron.

Is this a warning to other Gafa?

Are Facebook, Amazon and Apple next on the list?

“I find it hard to understand why we singled out Google knowing that this is also true for Facebook and Amazon, even if the market shares are not the same.

All these companies accumulate a lot of hats.

They often find themselves judge and party ”, analyzes Francis Bloch.

"These are not quite the same questions that arise but their economic model is similar, and we can expect the opening of additional procedures in the same direction", points Jean-Baptiste Soufron.

Meanwhile, Republican Missouri Senator Josh Hawley has welcomed the lawsuit against Google, saying it would be "the biggest abuse of dominance lawsuit in a generation."

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