{"text":[[{"start":8.379999999999999,"text":"Break-ups are never easy. "},{"start":10.434,"text":"But one could be on the cards for Google’s $2tn empire. "},{"start":14.139,"text":"On Tuesday, the US Department of Justice recommended splitting up the company — spanning its Chrome browser, Play app store and Android operating system — as one of several options to remediate the Big Tech group’s “anti-competitive conduct”. "},{"start":26.519,"text":"The suggestion follows a landmark court decision in August when a federal judge, Amit Mehta, branded Google a “monopolist”. "},{"start":33.199,"text":"He said deals it had made with wireless carriers, browser developers and device manufacturers, including Apple, had helped to tighten its hold over the online search market. "}],[{"start":43.24,"text":"Google is under fire on other fronts, too. "},{"start":46.344,"text":"On Monday another federal judge said the business must open up its Play shopfront for apps to competition. "},{"start":51.787000000000006,"text":"A separate lawsuit argues that the company uses unfair practices to dominate the market for online advertising technology. "},{"start":58.454,"text":"The cases all feed into the belief that Google’s size is a problem for the tech sector. "},{"start":62.984,"text":"But it makes more sense to target the company’s ability to entrench its power than to break it up. "}],[{"start":68.21000000000001,"text":"Google’s strength in online search — where it handles over 90 per cent of queries — has been underpinned by a network effect. "},{"start":75.07700000000001,"text":"As it has grown, it has collected more user data, allowing it to sharpen its search tools and, in effect, drive more traffic to its site. "},{"start":83.15700000000001,"text":"That has been a boon for its ad-driven revenue model, which has helped it to deliver innovative products from which Google’s users and marketers all benefit. "},{"start":90.549,"text":"The problem, then, is less about how big it has become, and more about its ability to raise barriers to entry. "}],[{"start":97.97000000000001,"text":"Forcing Google to strip away Chrome or Android — which help to promote its search tool — risks being ineffective and too retrospective. "},{"start":105.52400000000002,"text":"A break-up will have little impact if it can still make deals to be the default search engine. "},{"start":110.11700000000002,"text":"Even when users have the choice they still tend to opt for Google’s search tool over the likes of Microsoft’s Bing. "},{"start":115.83400000000002,"text":"A misguided focus on size is also not the best message to send to other rapidly scaling tech businesses. "}],[{"start":122.60000000000001,"text":"Time is another factor. "},{"start":124.47900000000001,"text":"A final decision on how to sanction Google may not come until August 2025. "},{"start":128.934,"text":"An appeal could add years. "},{"start":130.65200000000002,"text":"By the time any remedy even hits the business, technology and market dynamics could have shifted. "},{"start":135.832,"text":"As it is, users have been complaining over recent years about apparently declining quality in Google’s search results. "},{"start":141.912,"text":"New generative AI search tools are also gaining market share. "},{"start":145.592,"text":"Microsoft, which was ordered to be split up in 2000 for squeezing competition, is a good example. "},{"start":151.097,"text":"That case was overturned, but the software firm’s dominance fell anyway as it failed to innovate and mobile technology grew. "}],[{"start":158.42000000000002,"text":"So what should be done? "},{"start":160.21200000000002,"text":"The DoJ is better off focusing on other, forward-looking remedies it proposed on Tuesday. "},{"start":165.36700000000002,"text":"That includes curtailing Google’s ability to strike contracts with other tech companies to set its search tool as default. "},{"start":171.42200000000003,"text":"These deals prevent other search businesses from scaling up. "}],[{"start":175.66000000000003,"text":"Encouraging tech firms to provide a choice of possible search engines, including AI-driven ones might help too. "},{"start":182.05200000000002,"text":"Asking Google to share a portion of its data trove could also support new entrants and help level the playing field for companies trying to build up generative AI search tools. "},{"start":190.63200000000003,"text":"But data privacy concerns abound. "}],[{"start":193.38000000000002,"text":"Investors do not appear to be too concerned about the threat of a split for now. "},{"start":197.70900000000003,"text":"The looming presidential election also adds to the uncertainties surrounding the eventual outcome of the case. "},{"start":203.127,"text":"Either way, talk of breaking up Google is an oversimplified answer to a complex problem. "}],[{"start":207.96000000000004,"text":""}]],"url":"https://creatives.ftmailbox.cn/album/175088-1728526602.mp3"}