Google vs. America: Difference between revisions

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Such a drastic action, while very unusual for the present time, is not unprecedented in Internet history. The breakup of the Bell System either resulted in or caused the growth of phreaking, depending on your viewpoint. The lawsuit against Microsoft, while its outcome was anticlimactic, did spell the beginning of the end of the domination of Internet Explorer.  
Such a drastic action, while very unusual for the present time, is not unprecedented in Internet history. The breakup of the Bell System either resulted in or caused the growth of phreaking, depending on your viewpoint. The lawsuit against Microsoft, while its outcome was anticlimactic, did spell the beginning of the end of the domination of Internet Explorer.  


It is important to note that because both cases were settled, they are not precedents in the legal sense. Indeed it is arguable that the effect of any civil action, in setting precedent for future cases, is in inverse proportion to its social, economic, and political significance. Hence, as neither aspect of this case is precisely knowable at time of writing, this article needs to cover both.
It is important to note that because both cases were settled, they are not precedents in the legal sense. But even though they didn't set precedent (make rules future judges have to follow), they did have widespread social, economic, and political effects. These cases might fall into that category, as well.
 
They reflect a new understanding that Big Tech corporations are the colonizers, not the friends, of the common man of the Internet. Both sides of the political spectrum, despite their widening differences, have united in realizing that these corporations are responsible only to themselves and their shareholders and not to the people.
==Overview of the cases==
==Overview of the cases==
===First case===
===First case===

Revision as of 03:27, 26 October 2021

Four antitrust lawsuits have been filed against Google by state attorneys general, charging it with attempting and conspiring to monopolize interstate commerce. If successful, the states concerned will receive threefold the damages caused to their residents by Google's alleged monopolistic behavior.

Such a drastic action, while very unusual for the present time, is not unprecedented in Internet history. The breakup of the Bell System either resulted in or caused the growth of phreaking, depending on your viewpoint. The lawsuit against Microsoft, while its outcome was anticlimactic, did spell the beginning of the end of the domination of Internet Explorer.

It is important to note that because both cases were settled, they are not precedents in the legal sense. But even though they didn't set precedent (make rules future judges have to follow), they did have widespread social, economic, and political effects. These cases might fall into that category, as well.

They reflect a new understanding that Big Tech corporations are the colonizers, not the friends, of the common man of the Internet. Both sides of the political spectrum, despite their widening differences, have united in realizing that these corporations are responsible only to themselves and their shareholders and not to the people.

Overview of the cases

First case

Second case

Third case

Fourth case

US antitrust law in general

Sherman Act and Clayton Act

Pertinent cases interpreting, and acts amending, these laws

Common legal arguments

Monopolization

Parens patriae

Combination in restraint of trade

Possible effect

On archiving

On Internet communities

On regulation of the Internet