Update on that: US considers breakup of Google in landmark search case | Reuters
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Same article on my Neuters instance:
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“rival search engine company DuckDuckGo”
Someone needs an explanation of “search engine” vs. “search aggregator”.
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DuckDuckGo only uses Bing under the hood as its search engine, and does not aggregate other search engines.
An aggregator of one? 
That still doesn’t make them a search engine company, or a rival to Google’s search engine. It also makes me want to avoid them even more, since they’re firmly in Microsoft’s pocket.
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The saga continues. Now some details what is threatened to be done to Google search (open it up + restrictions), Chrome (sell) and Android (maybe sell). Seems big but not unreasonable (to me, these “unreasonable” arguments would be less effective if these similar measures would also be done to other big players too for the indiscretions they have committed). More on:
Google under fire: DOJ recommends selling Chrome, regulating Android
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Love this headline: Welcome to Google’s nightmare: US reveals plan to destroy search monopoly - Ars Technica
In other words...
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This was published today on HeackRead:
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Anyone see the election results, and remember what happened to the Microsoft case? I wouldn’t be celebrating Google is probably going to get a slap on the wrist just like Microsoft did.
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The competition regulatory authorities have been asleep at the wheel. Google is a substantial player in so many aspects of the tech space. Sale of Chrome (if it is eventually ordered and if appeals fail and if it actually happens) … great. But what about all the other aspects?
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Any progress is better than none, and is an opportunity to build momentum and stack pressure.
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With Trump in charge, I doubt there will be any antitrust action at the DoJ. With Trump and Musk screaming about getting rid of government regulations on business, Trump’s DoJ is unlikely to break up Google. Only if Trump has a personal beef with the company is Trump likely to allow any antitrust enforcement, and Google can effectively bribe Trump to leave the company alone. According to Business Insider, the Chinese state-owned telecom ZTE bribed Trump in 2018 to avoid its products being banned in the US. Google has endless recources to make Trump happy, so I expect this DoJ case against Google to quietly die.
It is widely reported that Lina Khan is expected to be dismissed from the FTC under Trump. The Hill reported:
In an industry note last week, Wedbush Securities analysts suggested Khan’s likely exit and a “dramatically reduced regulatory framework” in a Trump administration could open the door to more mergers in the industry.
“This Khan nightmare period for the tech world has put a lid on tech deal flow and we believe this all changes starting today with Trump in the White House and a much more business friendly regulatory environment,” they wrote the day after the election.
Cantor similarly said he expects a “slew of deals” over the next four years, pointing to falling interest rates and the assumption that a Trump administration will more lenient than the Biden administion.
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I agree. It at least could serve as a shot across the bow for other abusers.
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I use mojeek on gnome web (epiphany) when I turn on my L5!
Unfortunately are still missing massive improvements (Crimson?) so it’s mostly turned off in my nightstand drawer! 
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For those interested in understanding better the problem of monopolies and how they stifle innovation, follow Matt Stoller on X/Twitter.
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Or simply read Purism’s blog articles, especially @Randys’ most recent one:
No authwall, analytics or trackers included.
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Another thing to keep in mind is that Chrome/Chromium separated from Google Search will have the same economic problems as Mozilla. The only company that I can imagine paying $15-20 billion to acquire Chrome is Microsoft, in order to grow Bing’s market share. I’d guess that Google spends about $1 billion per year to maintain the 33.7 million lines of code in Chromium, which is almost as many lines as the Linux kernel with 35.9M LoC.
In my opinion Chromium should be developed like Linux under a non-profit foundation, which would lower the costs, but that would give no compensation to Google if it is divested that way, so I don’t think the DoJ will order that.
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If you look at the example of Ma Bell, and then at our communications systems as they exist today in the US, you really need a couple of things to happen if monopolized markets are to be disrupted. First, you want a total redesign of the systems in question, and the result must incentivize competition. Then, you also need specific policies aimed at protecting customers from market centralization in the future as technology evolves, otherwise the same players, or others, can collude or centralize control all over again when ramping up the next technological adoption curve. Also, you definitely want strict and swift consequences for companies that work around any of this. I’m just saying market centralization is a complex problem, especially now, and I’m not sure incrementalism will work in reverse. Add to this the fact that if your government is persistently waging war, then whether or not it’s evident to you, your government almost certainly exercises control over not just communications but also industry and currency. So I would suspect DOJ is more engaged in political maneuvers or appearances than any truly beneficial action here.
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Well they should really make big fines like 50 percent of yearly income and plus how many years ongoing abuse then you add each year, then lets see how big tech will be more respectful towards their users and the law
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