Google is not going bankrupt, but its business model needs to change
A US federal court recently ruled that Google does not have to sell its Chrome browser or Android operating system. This is a big relief for Google, because the US Justice Department wanted Google to sell Chrome to reduce its dominance. But Google can be said to have survived this court ruling. Immediately after this ruling, the share price of Google’s parent company Alphabet increased by more than 8 percent.
However, an important aspect of the ruling is that Google will no longer be able to make exclusive agreements. From now on, they will have to share important data or information with rival search engines. Until now, Google used to pay large amounts of money to large companies like Apple and Samsung to set Google’s search engine as the default on their devices. In 2021, Google spent $26 billion on such agreements with Apple alone. Now, this exclusive agreement is being tightened.
Apple and other technology companies are also expected to benefit from this ruling. Because from now on, they will also be able to promote other search engines or browsers on their devices.
Does Google really have a monopoly?
Many people think that Google is practically a legal monopoly on the Internet. Because most people worldwide use Google when they search for something. Even the word ‘Google’ has entered the English dictionary as a verb. This is because Google’s search engine is much more popular than others.
In August 2023, the court ruled that Google was using its influence to create obstacles to competition and innovation. So many people thought that Google might go bankrupt. But this time, that fear has been dispelled.
What is the future?
Google sees this ruling as a victory for themselves. According to them, the emergence of new technologies like artificial intelligence proves that competition in the digital world is now very intense. People can easily choose the services they want.
On the other hand, Google’s rivals, such as ‘DuckDuckGo’, say that this ruling will not change Google’s illegal behavior much. According to them, the trend of consumers being harmed will continue.
Another important point is that this legal battle is not over. Google will face another case later this month, where its monopoly in online advertising is being questioned.
According to analysts, if Google were broken up, it would create new opportunities for competition in the digital advertising and app markets. This would make it easier for smaller companies to enter the market and give consumers more options. But that possibility does not appear to be in sight for now.
BD Pratidin/Nazmul
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