Why are there antitrust cases pursued against Google?

QTwo questions: First, Google is being sued on a number of fronts for so-called antitrust violations, but in my view, Google provides a lot of really good services and employs a lot of people. Is “just too big” the issue?

AAntitrust prohibitions are found in federal and state laws that seek to regulate the conduct and organization of business entities, with the focus on promoting competition and preventing monopolies. Google, the well-known search engine, faces litigation brought by state and federal enforcers.

For example, the U.S. Department of Justice is pursuing a case that argues Google utilizes anticompetitive tactics to protect its monopoly over general search activities.

Another litigation, brought by a coalition over 30 states, makes a similar argument but includes further allegations, the most significant of which is that Google utilizes its control over general searches (Googling) to discriminate against other companies in the vertical search business (for example, Yelp or

Kayak).

This means that Google wants us to begin all searches on Google, not otherwise. Google vigorously contests these cases, and there is quite a ways to go to see how they play out. It is not so much that “too big” is the issue. It is whether “too big” means too much snuffing out of others, done in such a way that trade and commerce are truly obstructed.

QSecond question: There are antitrust bills now in the U.S. Congress to revamp the likes of Amazon, Apple, Google and Facebook. What is going on there?

The donation to LBCC is unrestricted, the college said. But it will be prioritized for three areas, including:

• Improving student academic outcomes by addressing racial equity gaps.

• Promoting an inclusive and affirming campus environment.

• Increasing holistic support services for our most vulnerable students.

“We are grateful for this generous gift to Long Beach City College’s equity and racial justice work,” Uduak-Joe Ntuk, the Board of Trustees president for the Long Beach Community College District, said in a statement. “These funds will expand on that work to accelerate academic outcomes, increase economic opportunity and expand upward mobility for generations of LBCC students.”

The vast majority of LBCC’s student population are people of color, with more than 58% identifying as Latino. Students who are Asian, Native American and Pacific Islander comprise 11% of the population. Black students also make up 11% of LBCC’s population.

ADrafts of antitrust bills that might reshape popular business models for the Big Tech companies are being circulated. This follows a yearlong investigation by the House Judiciary subcommittee on antitrust, focusing on Amazon, Apple, Google and Facebook. A nearly 450-page report was produced.

The draft bills have various features, including limiting the ability of the four companies to complete large mergers, requiring each to make it easier for users to leave their platforms with their data intact, and preventing them from owning businesses that present a conflict of interest. Bottom line, as

Among the initiatives and successes LBCC touted in its Tuesday announcement were increasing overall transfers to four-year universities by 16% over the last three years, including 51% and 19% increases among Black and Latino students, respectively.

The number of Black students going from high school to LBCC increased 25% from fall 2019 to fall 2020.

And in the last five years, the number of Black and Latino students receiving degrees from LBCC increased 119% and 125%, respectively, the college said.

The college last year, in the wake of George Floyd being killed and nationwide protests against systemic racism, adopted the Long Beach Framework of Reconciliation in Support of the Black Community. That initiative is meant to address institutional racism at LBCC.

“It hasn’t been easy to have those hard and uncomfortable conversations about institutional racism within Long Beach City College,” interim SuperintendentPresident Dr. Mike Muñoz said in a statement. “We acknowledged with the lawsuits against Google, stay tuned.

One question that clearly presents itself: By purporting to rein in these businesses, are we instead hurting the market place and not letting full-on competition play itself out?

that we need to dismantle the barriers that sometime prevents our most vulnerable students from succeeding. These courageous efforts made by our students and employees and led by our Board of Trustees are being recognized and validated. I hope this gift inspires

FDA as of today, but have received Emergency Use Authorization. Thus, you are first to be informed you are not required to take the shot. In turn, an employer has a level of discretion to terminate an employee whose employment is at-will. Just how this will be dealt with going forward carries some uncertainty for the time being. those who may be uncertain about changing the status quo to join our institutional movement from being color blind to a race conscious approach.”