Google is a giant tech company with hundreds of thousands of employees. So, it must be difficult for the management team to know what each employee thinks about the organization. That said, a recent survey suggests that there is more internal dissent than one might expect. Apparently, a significant percentage of Google employees admit that the company is a monopoly. There are also employees and tech professionals who want measures against it.
A survey conducted through Blind, a professional social network that allows employees to share opinions about their work anonymously, revealed data that might surprise you. The survey involved 2,316 tech professionals, including 322 Google employees.
A court determined monopolistic practices by Google in Search and Ad services
Before going into details, it is useful to remember that Google lost a lawsuit for monopolistic practices in its search and ad services. This was a massive blow to the company, as it will have to change certain things.
“After having carefully considered and weighed the witness testimony and evidence, the court reaches the following conclusion: Google is a monopolist, and it has acted as one to maintain its monopoly,” the verdict against Google reads. Also, over concerns about practices determined as monopolistic by the court, the US DoJ is considering “breaking up” the company, forcing it to divest itself of some of its core products and services. For now, the latter is only one of the proposed options.
But what do Google employees think about the ruling and the DoJ proposal? Well, it seems that there are more in favor of the ruling than one might expect.
35% of Google employees surveyed agree: the company is a monopoly
Among participating Google employees, 23% agree that the company should divest itself of core services like Android, Chrome, or Google Ads. Meanwhile, 47% of all tech professionals surveyed feel the same way. Also, 35% of participating Google employees agree that the company is a monopoly.
There are all kinds of opinions, including some pretty harsh ones. For example, a Google employee said that “it would be great if android and chrome went out of business.” The comment does not simply reflect a desire for the separation of such products, but for their complete disappearance from the industry. The comment adds that this would help give rise to “new competitors with new products designed to benefit users.”
However, there are employees who disagree with this point of view. Another comment says that something like that “would deprive the world of incredible free software.” The comment also claims that DoJ representatives “fundamentally don’t understand the tech industry.” This could be true, since we are talking about legislators, not tech experts.
Another opinion attacks the existence of ad-supported free software products. The comment states that these kinds of products “are handcuffs that tie you to the monopoly network.” It even claims that “users are better without them.” This view would require a lot of study and consideration. After all, there are segments of the population whose socio-economic conditions prevent them from accessing paid software. Some would even see this view as potentially biased from a privileged position.
Exclusivity contracts between Google & Apple getting backlash
Contracts between big players in the industry are another concern addressed by the DoJ. These types of deals would prevent smaller or emerging companies from competing fairly. For example, Google Search is the default search engine on Apple products thanks to a deal between Apple and the Mountain View giant. 40% of Google employees surveyed are against this type of contract. On the other hand, 60% of tech professionals surveyed think the same.
Currently, it is not known what changes Google will make to catch up after the ruling against its practices. It remains to be seen whether the potential tweaks will be enough to satisfy both internal and general dissent among industry professionals. That so many employees agree that the company is a monopoly should make Google rethink some things.