Newswise — WASHINGTON (November 21, 2024) – A federal court has ruled that Google illegally abused its market power to suppress competition in internet search engines. According to The Washington Post, “the Google antitrust case has been closely watched in antitrust law circles as the first in a string of cases federal prosecutors have launched against high-tech giants.”

Faculty experts at the George Washington University are available to offer insight, analysis and commentary. To speak with an expert, please contact GW Media Relations Specialists Shannon Mitchell at [email protected] and Cate Douglass Restuccio at [email protected].

Law

William Kovacic, Global Competition Professor of Law and Policy, Professor of Law, and Director of the Competition Law Center at the George Washington University Law. Kovacic is an expert in antitrust law, contracts, and government contracts. In addition to his expertise, Kovacic was a member of the FTC for over a decade and chaired the commission from March 2008-March 2009.

Richard J. Pierce, Lyle T. Alverson Professor of Law at the George Washington University Law School. Pierce is an expert on anti-trust law, administrative law, and government regulation. Additionally, Pierce is the author of over twenty books and his work is often cited in judicial opinions, including dozens of opinions in the U.S. Supreme Court.

Barak Richman, Alexander Hamilton Professor of Business Law at the George Washington University Law School. Richman is an expert in antitrust law, the economics of contracting, and new institutional economics. With a PhD in organizational economics, Professor Richman can intersect between business and law.

Business

David Halliday, teaching associate professor of strategic management & public policy at the GW School of Business, is an expert on business strategy, corporate strategy, and business ethics and public policy. Halliday’s research also focuses on corporate fraud and the problems that come from myopic (i.e. short-termist or impatient) investors.

Halliday says, “Google essentially gets all of their searches from three main places, the first is of course the Google website. The Department of Justice can’t touch that. The second is Google’s default search browser and all Chrome products. The third is Google’s relationship with Apple as the default search provider. Any of the recommended changes, which of course will get reanalyzed on appeal, will begin to solve some of the problem of Google as a search and advertising monopolist. However, the changes will be effective to the extent that they cut into Google’s search traffic, not to the extent that they limit Google’s ability to control Chrome.”

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