The fate of Google’s Vast Empire is now in the hands of a federal judge in washington, dc, as hearings begin to determine where the tech giant should be broken up for mainting an ILLEGAL MANOPOLY in Search.
If the court rules against Google, The outcome could send shockwaves through the tech industry. The company might be forced to Divest Major Assets – Potentially Including Its Chrome Browser or even the android operating system. While the government has taken similar similar Antitrust Actions in the past, it’s been more than 25 years Since a Household Name Faced A Breakup of this scale.
So, what happy to the companies that was split up -or nearly split up –under government pressure? Let’s take a look back.
Microsoft
In 2000, Microsoft Came Dangerly Close to Being Forced To Separate its Windows Operating System from its office suffe suite after a court found it has been found compeled in the passage Computer Market. However, the breakup order was overturned by an appeals court the following year.
Still, The Monopoly Ruling Left a Lasting Mark on Microsoft. The company could no longer block pc makers from distributing software from competitors, Paving the way for Google and others to grow. As web browsers believe increasing Central to the Computing Experience, that Shift Proved Critical.
At & t
The government made multiple attempts to break up at & t, starting in 1913, but didn’t successed until 1984. The result was the dislution of “ma bell” into several smaller regional companies – KNOWNAS Baby Bells – Including Us West, Ameritech, Nynex, and Bellsouth, which handled local calling. At & t retained control of its long-distance network but more facted competition, driving priss down. To put it in personal: a three-minute coast-to-coast call in 1987 Cost $ 3.08 (About $ 8.45 Today). Now, Long-DISTANCE CALLS are typically unlimited and included in your monthly plan.
Theose Baby Bells Grew Up And Became a Strong Competitor for At & T, Too: NYNEX, GTE, and Bell Atlantic Merged to become verizon, whose market cap is now Roghly Equal to that of T & T.