International News
Impact Of US judge’s Ruling On Google’s Search Dominance
Google has escaped a breakup of its Chrome browser in a major US competition case, but the judge imposed remedies whose impact remains uncertain just as AI starts to compete with search engines.
Here is what we know about how the antitrust ruling could affect the company, the wider tech sector and ordinary users of the giant’s services.
What is the impact on Google?
Judge Amit Mehta, who found a year ago that Google illegally maintained monopolies in online search, did not order the company to sell off its widely-used Chrome browser in his Tuesday ruling.
Neither did he halt Google’s agreements with companies like iPhone maker Apple or Firefox browser developer Mozilla, under which it pays them to make Google their default search engine.
Instead, he ordered remedies including requirements to share data with other firms so they could develop their own search products, and barring exclusive deals to make Google the only search engine on a device or service.
The ruling was “far milder than feared… (it) removes a significant legal overhang and signals that the court is willing to pursue pragmatic remedies,” Hargreaves Lansdown analyst Matt Britzman commented.
Google chiefs nevertheless still “disagree… strongly with the Court’s intial decision in August 2024,” the company’s Vice-President of Regulatory Affairs Lee-Anne Mulholland said in a blog post — hinting at a likely appeal that could go all the way to the US Supreme Court.
Stock in Google parent company Alphabet surged on Wednesday as investors welcomed the ruling.
How will this affect the wider tech sector?
Mehta himself noted that the landscape has changed since the US Justice Department and 11 states launched their antitrust case against Google in 2020.
The emergence of generative artificial intelligence as a challenge to traditional search “give(s) the court hope that Google will not simply outbid competitors for distribution if superior products emerge,” he wrote in his ruling.
“Competition is intense and people can easily choose the services they want,” Google’s Mulholland agreed.
Others in the sector were unhappy with the ruling.
“Google will still be allowed to continue to use its monopoly to hold back competitors, including in AI search,” said Gabriel Weinberg, chief executive of privacy-conscious search engine DuckDuckGo.
Beyond Google, observers have pointed out that Apple and Mozilla are both big winners from the decision.
Ending tie-ups like theirs with Google would “impose substantial — in some cases, crippling — downstream harms to distribution partners, related markets and consumers,” Mehta wrote.
“This is a huge win for Apple, but perhaps even more so for Mozilla, which may very well have died” without the cash infusions, former Google Ventures investor M.G. Siegler wrote on his blog.
What about ordinary search and AI users?
In the near term, some search data will be shared by Google with competitors under the ruling — with Mulholland saying the company has “concerns about how these requirements will impact our users and their privacy”.
Looking further ahead, “Google Search is in the process of being disrupted” by chatbots, Siegler said.
A future where the company’s flagship search product is completely displaced may yet be far off, as Google Search notched up more than 85 billion individual visits in the month of March 2024, the most recent with data available from Statista.
That compares with around 700 million weekly users reported by OpenAI for its ChatGPT chatbot, the biggest-name generative AI product.
What’s more, Google is not barred from entering into the same kinds of distribution deals as it struck for online search to place its own AI products on partner devices or services.
The company already reports 450 million monthly users for its Gemini chatbot app, and offers competitive tools in other areas like video generation.
AFP
Jeremy Doku insisted Manchester “will keep on fighting” in the Premier League title race despite their “painful” draw with Everton on Monday.
City drew 3-3 with the Toffees at Hill Dickinson Stadium, with Doku scoring a 97th-minute equaliser, having also scored the opening goal.
Doku’s equaliser (96:49) is City’s third-latest goal on record (since 2006-07) in a Premier League game after John Stones’ strike against Arsenal in September 2024 (97:14) and Gabriel Jesus’ goal against Everton in February 2019 (96:52).
Doku has had a hand in six goals across his last five games for City in all competitions (four goals, two assists), as many as in his previous 22 games combined (one goal, five assists).
The Belgian also created the most chances in the match against Everton (four), completed the most dribbles (5/7) and won the most duels (14/19).
City avoided defeat in a Premier League game despite trailing by 2+ goals as late as the 82nd minute for the first time since March 2012 against Sunderland (3-3).
They went on to win the league title in 2011-12, and Doku believes City can still beat Arsenal to the trophy this season.
“First half, we played well and created a lot of chances. We know if we don’t score those chances, it is going to get difficult at the end,” said Doku.
“Obviously, they are at their own stadium, they create chances, and they are dangerous, and they scored two goals, but I think we gave them the game.
“Good that we came back because one point is not bad in games like this.
“We will see. It feels painful now. There is still a lot of games to go. We lost two points, but we know that one point can be important at the end.
“We will keep on fighting. We owe it to ourselves and to our fans.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Nigerians interested in repatriation from South Africa will be responsible for the cost of their return trip to Nigeria.
The ministry’s spokesperson, Kimiebi Ebienfa, stated this during a press briefing on Monday in Abuja.
The briefing came shortly after a closed-door meeting between the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Dunoma Ahmed, and the South African Acting High Commissioner, Lesoli Machele.
Mr Ebienfa said the process will be self-funded and not state-funded, as it is a voluntary decision that the Nigerian government will only facilitate and coordinate.
In the recent past, such reparations have been sponsored by Nigerian airline owners, particularly Allen Onyema, the CEO of Air Peace.
The Nigerian government, on Sunday, indicated its readiness to repatriate its citizens from South Africa due to xenophobic violence.
The effort primarily targets Nigerians who feel threatened by the xenophobic violence and tension in parts of South Africa, as the protests against black immigrants in the country continue. Two Nigerians were killed last month.
Since the announcement, about 130 Nigerians in South Africa have expressed a willingness to return home voluntarily.
Mr Ebienfa stated that the return of the Nigerians depends on their financial capacity, as they would be expected to fund their trip back home individually.
He said, “Those willing to leave are expected to approach the high commission and, given that their decision is voluntary, have the resources to fund their return to Nigeria.”
The government will not “provide an aircraft from Nigeria to convey them.”
He also noted that the speed of the repatriation process will be determined by the availability of funds.
“Yes, 130 as of this morning have registered, but actualisation would be required to have their flight ticket to move back to Nigeria.”
Mr Ebienfa also explained that Nigerians who have so far expressed interest are motivated either by concerns about threats to their lives or by fear of arrest by South African law enforcement agencies.
“There are two groups of Nigerians who want to come back. One group feels the country is not safe for them and wants to come. They have all their papers intact.
“Then there is also the second group that has travel document violations or resident permit violations. And instead of running away from law enforcement, they are appealing that the government facilitate their movement back to Nigeria,” he explained.
However, he noted that the process is still being worked out and that the government would step in to provide aircraft or other needed assistance if tensions rise and the situation becomes more volatile.
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