Why Consumers Would Be Hurt by FTC Antitrust Action vs. Google, Seattle Biz Coach Terry Corbell

June 30, 2011 - PRLog -- Google is being targeted in a Federal Trade Commission antitrust investigation because it has acquired enemies en route to its huge Internet success with free services, according to Seattle Biz Coach Terry Corbell.

“Once again, we are looking at an epic antitrust case, and Uncle Sam is again setting itself up as the digital-age czar,” writes Mr. Corbell on his Biz Coach portal (http://www.bizcoachinfo.com).

“You’ll recall the Microsoft antitrust case in which it averted a breakup,” remembers the business-performance columnist and consultant. “Only this time it’s the FTC instead of the U.S. Department of Justice persecuting Google.”

“The purpose of antitrust suits is to protect millions of consumers – not competitors,” he asserts. “History shows two large companies faced with antitrust suits – AT&T and Microsoft – became sidetracked, which hurt businesses and consumers.”

“On Nov.21, 1974, the Justice Department filed the biggest antitrust case in history as it sought the breakup of AT&T,” Mr. Corbell recalls.

“All the case did was to accelerate the company’s demise,” he writes. “Such legal action drains company resources. They become distracted, which hurts consumers who no longer benefit. Indeed, AT&T could no longer innovate.”

Mr. Corbell recalls the government argued that the vertically integrated company, which provided both long distance and local services, was a monopoly and caused unfair competition. AT&T’s long-distance rates had been subsidizing the local residential service rates. AT&T was forced to break up its Bell system of local-exchange telephone companies so that it could go into the computer business.

“Many analysts have noted that this FTC-Google issue is, of course, reminiscent of Microsoft’s war with the Justice Department,” notes Mr. Corbell. "The federal antitrust lawsuit lasted from the 1990s to the early part of the 21st century. Microsoft finally emerged from government oversight in May."

Mr. Corbell believes the Microsoft case was a major distraction for the company, and hurt consumers, too.

“A few years later, when I was the Biz Coach columnist on Belo Web sites, cybercrime regularly raised its ugly head,” he writes. “I wrote in 2003 that Microsoft was not performing adequately in security. Like AT&T, it seemed as though Microsoft failed to innovate – it was not using best practices in security.”

He writes it’s worth noting that Microsoft is now serious about security and is better serving business and consumers. The company provides a free service, Microsoft Security Essentials. It does a credible job of providing real-time protection against viruses, spyware, and other malicious invaders.

He believes the FTC probe of Google is unwarranted.

“Google is not an abusive monopoly – a predator that unfairly exploits competition and is harmful to the public interest in its search-advertising business,” he asserts.

He publishes his reasons at http://www.bizcoachinfo.com/archives/7312.

An addendum to his column, “Is FTC Probe Warranted in Google’s Business Practices?” is a case study on how his business-coaching portal became ranked as No. 1 on all the search engines in using the key words, “biz coach.”

He also includes a link to his column, “Google Insights – 23 Key Questions about Your Web Site,”http://www.bizcoachinfo.com/archives/6511.

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Seattle Biz Coach Terry Corbell is a business-performance columnist and consultant. With more than 30 years experience, he publishes performance-enhancing strategies at The Biz Coach: http://www.bizcoachinfo.com, Proven Solutions for Maximum Profits.