this post was submitted on 20 Nov 2023
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I wonder how long it'll be before google gets sued for their anti-competitive behavior.
Oh I imagine the papers are being filed as we speak, because this is blatantly illegal.
Well you typically need standing in order to file a lawsuit, who would do it? Mozilla are probably the only ones. Why would this cause them to do it when past similar practices haven’t?
Perhaps YouTube premium subscribers would have standing as a class action, since Google is materially worsening the experience of a paid product if you don’t use their browser
I personally don’t think an argument like that would hold up. A company making its service worse in itself isn’t going to win court cases, and this is hardly the worst example of a tech company making its products worse unless you use more of their software.
Perhaps not, but it’s not just the act of making the service worse, it’s doing so measurably to paying customers ONLY when using a competitors product. With those caveats, I think you could at least argue standing. Winning is a whole other battle.
Europe will step in as usual
How would Mozilla finance a court case against google though?
Microsoft, Mozilla org, maybe apple
EFF or government
On what standing though? Mozilla potentially has standing, and if the government finds that google is a monopoly, then the government could have standing, but nobody else.
Users affected by it, Mozilla, any other company that comes to support Mozilla, watchdog groups like the EFF...
It can also be brought by attorneys general and governmental regulators, the FCC and FTC might have a bit to say about it...
Antitrust suits aren't civil cases, I don't think, so "having standing" is a bit different
I'm not a lawyer though so I could be way off base, but the antitrust cases I've been aware of I don't think they were brought by companies but by government agencies
Isn't Mozilla a non profit? I don't they can sue for anything along the lines of hurting profits to the company.
Can't you sue for loss of income regardless?
They do have a for-profit subsidiary that potentially could though
Google funds then I'm pretty sure..
Of course they can. If the word profit is confusing you replace it with returns or finances.