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"A bid to break up Alphabet Inc.’s Google is one of the options being considered by the Justice Department after a landmark court ruling found that the company monopolized the online search market, according to people with knowledge of the deliberations.
The move would be Washington’s first push to dismantle a company for illegal monopolization since unsuccessful efforts to break up Microsoft Corp. two decades ago. Less severe options include forcing Google to share more data with competitors and measures to prevent it from gaining an unfair advantage in AI products, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private conversations.
Regardless, the government will likely seek a ban on the type of exclusive contracts that were at the center of its case against Google. If the Justice Department pushes ahead with a breakup plan, the most likely units for divestment are the Android operating system and Google’s web browser Chrome, said the people. Officials are also looking at trying to force a possible sale of AdWords, the platform the company uses to sell text advertising, one of the people said.
The Justice Department discussions have intensified in the wake of Judge Amit Mehta’s Aug. 5 ruling that Google illegally monopolized the markets of online search and search text ads. Google has said it will appeal that decision, but Mehta has ordered both sides to begin plans for the second phase of the case, which will involve the government’s proposals for restoring competition, including a possible breakup request.
The US plan will need to be accepted by Mehta, who would direct the company to comply. A forced breakup of Google would be the biggest of a US company since AT&T was dismantled in the 1980s."
-via Bloomberg, August 13, 2024
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kyle asking price and johnny what's up with simon having his earbuds in and phone in hand the moment they touch foot on base because before last week, he hadn't even known simon had a phone.
how did you think he got in contact with people?
i just figured he didn't.
anyway, price just shrugs and says, "gotta new girl or somethin'." johnny nods absently, lips twisted in thought.
"somethin' like tha'."
sure enough, come dinner time he can hear a higher pitched voice carrying a sense of urgency or excitement, he can't make out which it is, words coming out in a rapid fire manner.
accent is distinct too, colloquialism that hints at a different region or even country, peppered with slang he's only ever read online.
curious but it's nice to know someone's come to get to know the big man past his rough (and he means bloody rough) exterior.
he quickly tunes it out after, of course, not wanting to intrude on personal matters. but then it's a rare moment when simon's without them.
kyle manages to get snippets then.
(hey, love, just making some dinner; your favorite, actually. shrimp pasta alfredo.)
price taps him on the shoulder and he turns away, snapping back to reality. in the back of his mind, he vaguely remembers simon having an aversion to seafood.
he must be remembering wrong.
in the debrief room while they wait for price, he catches another.
(actually just finished unpacking the last of my stuff. you were a real help with this, i would've hated having to pay for movers.)
kyle recalls seeing simon haunting the hallway as per usual. he must've taken a time off.
on the way to the local strip club. why simon's there at all is a choice but his relationship with you is none of his business.
(yeah, uhm, i'm home and i checked the windows and bathroom like you taught me too. i still can't shake that feeling, yknow? i don't mean to worry you.)
since simon isn't talking to them about it, he must be getting rid of that issue soon. good on him. at least one of them gets to go back to a warm home and a soft pair of thighs.
(kyle doesn't question the other male voice in the call. nor does he question why simon isn't saying a word during it. simon's relationship with you is none of his business. he just hopes he'll get an invitation to the wedding.)
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