[rubitxxx2]

Assuming the simplified diagram of Google’s architecture, sure, it looks like you’re just splitting off a well-isolated part, but it would be a significant hardship to do it in reality.

Why not also require Apple to split off only the phone and messaging part of its iPhone, Meta to split off only the user feed data, and for the U.S. federal government to run only out of Washington D.C.?

This isn’t the breakup of AT&T in the early 1980s where you could say all the equipment and wiring just now belongs to separate entities. (It wasn’t that simple, but it wasn’t like trying to extract an organ.)

I think people have to understand that and know that what they’re doing is killing Google, and it was already on its way into mind-numbed enterprise territory.

[lolinder]

> Apple to split off only the phone and messaging part of its iPhone

Ooh, can we? My wife is super jealous of my ability to install custom apps for phone calls and messaging on Android, it'd be great if Apple would open theirs up to competition. Competition in the SMS app space would also likely help break up the usage of iMessage as a tool to pressure people into getting an iPhone so they get the blue bubble.

[rubitxxx2]

> Ooh, can we?

If the dream of a Star Trek future reputation-based government run by AI which secretly manipulates the vote comes true, yes we can!

Either that or we could organize competitors to lobby the US or EU for more lawsuits in exchange for billions in kickbacks! (Not implying anything by this.)

[gamblor956]

You jest, but splitting out just certain Internet Explorer features was part of the Microsoft antitrust resolution. It's what made Chrome's ascendancy possible.

[AtlasBarfed]

I mean it's just data. You can just copy it and hand it over to a newly formed competing entity.

You're not even really dealing with any of these shared infrastructure public property private property merged infrastructure issues.

Yeah sure. There's mountains of racks of servers, but those aren't that hard to get tariffs TBD.

I think it'll be interesting just to try and find some collection of ex Google execs who had actually like to go back to the do no evil days, and just hand them a copy of all the data.

I simply don't think we have the properly and elected set of officials to implement antitrust of any scale. DOJ is now permanently politicized and corrupt, and citizens United means corps can outspend "the people" lavishly.

Antitrust would mean a more diverse and resilient supply chain, creativity, more employment, more local manufacturing, a reversal of the "awful customer service" as a default, better prices, a less corrupt government, better products, more economic mobility, and, dare I say it, more freedom.

Actually, let me expound upon the somewhat nebulous idea of more freedom. I think we all hear about Shadow banning or outright banning with utter silence and no appeals process for large internet companies that have a complete monopoly on some critical aspect of Internet usage.

If these companies enabled by their cartel control, decide they don't like you or are told by a government not to like you, it is approaching a bigger burden as being denied the ability to drive.

Not a single one of those is something oligarchs or a corporatocracy has the slightest interest in

[486sx33]

Google killed Google. They should not have decided to become evil. Search can easily be removed, G Suite should be separate too.

[freedomben]

> Search can easily be removed

This strikes me like "two easy steps to draw an owl. First draw the head, then draw the body". I generally support some sort of breakup, but hand waving the complexities away is not going to do anybody any good