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Google Antitrust Issues
26 October, 2020: By Ajoy Maitra
Google has been the most searched content provider for years and continues to have settled rights over the internet than any other providers. Privacy issues has always been the concern for antitrust wherein Google holds a majority stake of common data as well as Government data with its prevalent dominance over the internet searches for about 90%. Such monopoly raised increasing concerns on whether the data collected are safe or are misused for corporate gains.

Google has a plethora of products constrained to its services and most preferred by common people due to its increased intelligence to alow automation for ease of tasks. Google was accused to harm the internet competition as it pays out to companies in order to include its search engine and also has been alleged of not allowing any other search engine's pre-installation in any Android device. As per reports by Business Insider on September 2018,


Google Pays Apple so that it remains the default search engine on the iPhone's Safari browser

Google's free of cost services as - Gmail, Chrome Browser, Adsense, YouTube, News, Google Drive, Goole Maps, Google Duo - attracts most of the users as well as developers provided with the opportunities to explore horizons beyond a country border, to know more. However, such free services include collection of user data as in search history and other most visited webpages or products scrolled upon in buying options. Such data are being further utilised for customization of services as per the requirements and meet their satisfaction - recommended to buy products best suited. As Google CEO stated in a blog post on June, 2020 that,


We believe that products should keep your information for only as long as it's useful and helpful to you - whether that's being able to find your favorite destinations in Maps or getting recommendations for what to watch on YouTube.

In contrary to such allegations imposed on Google, they have already introduced a new feature wherein users have the option to delete their conversations with Google Assistant or auto-delete controls giving choices to delete the Location History, Searches, Voice and YouTube activities data after 3/ 18 months. With rising digitalization of services, Artificial Intelligence plays a crucial role in concatenating the approaches to automation of services - where Google leads of all others.


Google Artificial Intelligence

It seems as in the Department of Justice is the only entity who is bend upon supervening and investigating such giant powers alleging on "potential monopolistic behaviour". Such moves has perturbed former Google CEO, Eric Schmidt criticizing the Government's mistrust suit as undue influence of polictics and a distraction from the more serious matters of the country. Mr. Schmidt who has been a board member until last year, remarked in aninterview at The Wall Street Journal's Tech Live conference, stating that,

I'm unfettered by the corporate rules now that I'm no longer a board member, nor an employee. I can say what I actually think... There's a difference between dominance and excellence.

Continuing further, he also suggested the Government to focus on the matters pertaining to China as losing on that would stake 50 years of growth to peril. Further Google rejected such antitrust allegations as "deeply flawed" and that all the customers are preferring the services all by choice rather than on force. As stated by Kent Walker, Chief Legal Officer of Google,


American antitrust law is designed to promote innovation and help consumers, not tilt the playing field in favour of particular competitors or make it harder for people to get the services they want.

Looking forward onto the bigger picture, Google has never been proved harmful as its policies are always subject to stringent following of rules set as per the regulations. Google Ceo Sundar Pichai had once stated to the Congressmen that Google has the data collection automated and managed by machine learning rather than manual access to data and are highly secured, however, such data are automatically utilized for providing customized services to the users as per their likings and preferences.

Such allegations and mistrust issues have the major concerns on potential data leaks that can break down whole system of a country subject to sensitive information being shared. Google continues to provides patches and security monitoring for better protection of user data with latest measures on providing full access to the user over their own data - choices to share information, store data or permanently delete conversations and search histories.