At the same time, some industry observers say the '60 Minutes' broadcast simply rehashed old concerns that regulators have already dismissed.
The show featured Yelp co-founder and CEO Jeremy Stoppelman claiming that trying to start Yelp today would be impossible because its content competes with Google. As such, Yelp, as a startup, would be “snuffed out” by Google.
Stoppelman’s campaign against Google is global. After his appearance on '60 Minutes,' he filed a formal complaint with the European Commission that alleges that the Google search engine prioritizes its own services and content, reports Media Post. In doing so, Google maintains an unfair advantage by minimizing search results for content of its competitors, he says.
Google has already had issues in Europe. It is currently appealing an approximately $2.7 billion fine by the European Commission. The fine is related to charges that the company abused its role as a search engine by giving itself an advantage in comparison shopping services.
The '60 Minutes' broadcast also featured prominent antitrust lawyer Gary Reback, who explained that Google is the gatekeeper of the internet. Its control of the internet is as important as John D. Rockefeller’s monopoly of the petroleum industry. Reback says, as a gatekeeper to the internet, Google has mind-boggling control over society.
Also during the '60 Minutes' broadcast, European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager maintained that the Commission has proof that Google has engaged in illegal, anti-competitive conduct. '60 Minutes' also profiled a 2011 Justice Department/FTC antitrust investigation of Google that has been closed.
Yet, the Disruptive Competitive Project, also known as DisCo, dismisses the '60 Minutes' broadcast, in large part because the prior Justice Department and FTC probe of Google was robust and it determined that Google had not violated antitrust laws.
DisCo explains that Google critics have pointed to a leaked FTC staff memo to bolster their argument that the regulator didn’t do its job. But, those critics cherry pick quotes from the communication and mispresent it. The decision to close the investigation, furthermore, resulted from a unanimous vote of FTC commissioners, who acted on a staff recommendation.
The FTC also obtained certain concessions from Google, including the company providing other businesses with access to certain patents, giving advertisers more flexibility, and misappropriating content.
Other critics of the '60 Minutes' broadcast argue that Alphabet isn’t a monopoly. Jerrick Media Holdings, Inc. CEO Jeremy Frommer opposed the argument that Google should be regulated or broken up, reports Proactive Investors. Frommer is involved with Vocal, a long-form social media platform.
He argues that the current definition of a monopoly needs to be revised due to the rapid pace of technology innovation. For example, regulators had blocked plans for Office Depot and Staples to merge based on fears that the resulting entity would dominate the office supply industry. With Amazon.com now providing low priced office supplies, concerns over Office Depot and Staples dominating the industry seem ludicrous, he says.
Other observers have opined that claiming Google is a monopoly is nothing new. The Street, for example writes that '60 Minutes' style "exposés" about the clout of big tech firms is far from being mind-blowing news. After all, it’s well known that companies such as Alphabet, Microsoft Corp., Amazon.com, Inc., Apple, Inc. and Facebook, Inc. have huge market positions that make them virtually untouchable.