Does Google hold Monopoly Power?

As of now 48 states, as well as Washington D.C. and U.S territory Puerto Rico, are launching investigations into Google and its dominance of the world wide web. They believe Google holds monopolistic power and many agree.

With their control over which websites appear on their search suggestions, they are able to give the top spots to the companies who pay for it. This means it is not the most relevant websites showing up, but the highest payer. This also allows Google to excessively promote their own companies in which they own several of. Huge companies owned by Google including Android and Youtube are growing more rapidly than ever because of this, only adding to their online dominance.

With 9 out of 10 total searches online being from Google, they are crushing any competitor and making billions off of it. This year Google will control 31% of global digital ad revenue. Proof of this is shown by the mass amount of wealth held by Google's parent company, Alphabet, which has a market value of $820 billion dollars to date.

While many may not see the big picture this is not just negatively affecting Google's competitors. For example, if someone were to look up the best clothing company for hiking, it may not be the most widely used or highly favored company that shows up for the first three, four results. It quite possibly could be some random company that knows nothing about hiking but has money to blow and paid Google the most for that top spot. Meanwhile, since that company had to pay more for advertising to get that top spot, not they will charge more for their clothes and the financial burden falls on the consumer.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/google-antitrust-probe-48-u-s-states-launch-antitrust-investigation-of-google-dominance-in-search-ads-and-data/

The Supreme Court and the Power of Judicial Review

           

              The Supreme Court is the single most powerful judiciary body in the world. Serving a crucial role in our government, this small group of individuals elected by current or former presidents works to set the precedents that dictate the future of our country. They receive more than a hundred new cases every week, about seven thousand a year. Receiving cases ranging from criminals on death row all the way to the president, they choose what is most important to deliberate on and make decisions affecting the entire country for years to come. Although, they did not always hold this magnitude of power.

              In the beginning, it seemed as though the supreme court held a weak place in the government in comparison to the president and congress. Then in 1801 John Marshall, just a young lawyer from Virginia, was elected as Chief Justice of the supreme court. It was that same year when Marshall made a decision that changed the way the United States government operated indefinitely. Marshall demonstrated the power of judicial review by striking down an act of Congress as unconstitutional. From here on the supreme court held the power to review and reject any action carried out by the legislative and executive branches of the U.S. government. Successfully beginning the legacy of the supreme court, John Marshall changed our country forever.

https://youtu.be/cWRoXYRsaeo

https://youtu.be/Ca8qSuWxcG8