Google: The Cost of Progress and the Price of Pioneering

谷歌 stands as the lighthouse guiding us through the chaotic seas of data. Yes, let's cut to the chase here. How much ever you want to hate the giant for knowing us too well, they deserve to know us.

Its search engine is a, nay "THE" cornerstone of modern life, shaping how we absorb, access, and interact with knowledge. The recent antitrust ruling by the Department of Justice, which accuses 谷歌 of monopolistic practices, misses an essential truth: no one else could have accomplished what Google has done. Let's write that again:

The essential truth is that - no one else could have accomplished what Google has done

The Backbone of the Internet Age

Let's cough this out - Google didn’t stumble into its position. It built, its position. From the late 1990s, when the Internet was a fragmented and chaotic experiment, Google emerged with a revolutionary idea—organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible. And it did. The result? A search engine so intuitive, so effective, that it became synonymous with finding information online.

Critics now argue that Google’s dominance is harmful, but consider the alternative: without a central system capable of indexing billions of websites, the Internet would be a digital Wild West. Do you really want to bounce around multiple libraries to find a book or some information? or do you want it ALL to be in one reliable place? - I mean seriously! Albeit the bias is evident, but let's get to understand how living in a capitalist world looks like, while holding on to the key to everything people want - you're bound to "capitalize". and thereby, expand, and give us more. Yes, if not "regulated" (not demonopolized" we may end up looking one way in life - but the key is regulation ad audit - not to decentralize information - Heck no!

Competing search engines have come and gone, unable to match the accuracy, speed, and relevance Google provides. Yes, Google controls 90% of the search market, maybe even more (Statista, 2024), but it does so because it’s the best at what it does—not because it’s holding anyone hostage. And to people who think the dark/deep web is out of Google's reach - I'll have everyone know, Google IS the dark/deep web; they are in every link and they monitor more information that the deep/dark web knows. The deep/dark web thinks or believes that they are privately running - but what they don't know is what Google knows, and that is - data.

Monopoly and Mastery

The DOJ’s case rests on claims that Google stifles competition through exclusive deals with companies like 苹果 and 三星电子 . But isn’t this simply the cost of maintaining the infrastructure that billions rely on daily? Paying $20 billion annually to be the default search engine on iPhones (U.S. vs. Google, 2024) isn’t a scheme to squash rivals; it’s an #investment in continuity - Genius. It ensures that when you pick up your smartphone, you’re accessing a search engine optimized to handle the complexity of modern queries - literally.

And what of the supposed price hikes in advertising? We understand that advertisers pay a premium because there’s no competition - we see what 谷歌 did there. But isn’t that reflective of the unparalleled reach and efficiency Google delivers? Advertisers aren’t paying Google out of coercion—they’re paying because no other platform offers the same reach and returns.

The True Cost of Progress

Here’s the uncomfortable truth: building a system that organizes the entire Internet is expensive. Maintaining it, is even more so. 谷歌 has poured trillions - yes that's right; they have poured in amounts worth the GDP of a continent, into developing algorithms, data centers, and AI tools that deliver results in milliseconds. This level of innovation isn’t free, and expecting it to be, is unrealistic. If we want a world where information is just a click away, we have to accept that it comes at a price—whether that’s through ads, partnerships, or, yes, Google’s dominance.

Breaking up Google, as some regulators propose, would shatter this carefully constructed ecosystem. Divesting Chrome, Android, or YouTube might satisfy government watchdogs, but it would likely lead to fragmentation, inefficiency, and a diminished user experience. Do we really want to sacrifice a system that works flawlessly for the sake of hypothetical competition?

In Defense of Greatness

The critics have a point: no company should be above scrutiny. But let’s not lose sight of the bigger picture. Google isn’t just a company; it’s a cultural and technological phenomenon that has fundamentally improved how we live. From democratizing access to knowledge to enabling innovations in AI, medicine, and education, Google has done more good than harm—by orders of magnitude.

If we want to hold Google accountable, let’s focus on ensuring it continues to innovate and serve users - through regulation and audit, not dismantling it in the name of #competition. After all, some monopolies aren’t born of greed—they’re born of need.