Jay Ezrielev, a former economic advisor to the FTC chairman, warned in Barron’s that the Biden Administration DOJ’s proposed remedies in the Google antitrust case would hurt consumers, increase costs, and stifle innovation.

The Biden Administration DOJ’s Remedies Would Discourage Investment in Innovation.

Ezrielev made the case that the agency’s policies are attempting to “undermine the most innovative firms just to make it easier for others to compete” and “dissuading innovation by the very firms that are best at it.” 

“The prohibitions against developing a new web browser and investments in AI would likewise stifle innovation.”

The Biden Administration DOJ’s Remedies Would Impose Direct Costs for Consumers.

Currently, anyone can use Google’s Maps, Gmail, Waze, Docs, and Sheets, for free. Ezrielev pointed out that this is because of Google’s business model, where it is “economical to offer Google’s applications for free because doing so helps to increase Google’s search ad revenue.” 

The proposed remedies would tear down this arrangement. “The remedy would weaken synergy between the search engine and Google’s applications, undermining the economic rationale for making applications available for free. Thus, Google may begin to charge user fees… This would be bad for consumers.” Instead of fostering competition or creating better outcomes for consumers, the DOJ’s remedies would lead to a world where Americans now have to pay for applications they used to have for free.

The Biden Administration DOJ Has Put Competitors Ahead of Consumers.

Ezrielev argued that the DOJ has been prioritizing competitors over consumers: “It is like forcing a champion sprinter to carry a 20-pound weight to give other sprinters a chance to win the race.” “They [the DOJ] have neither the authority nor expertise to do so,” Ezrielev said.

“Consumers are unlikely to be better off in a world with five low quality search engines than with one high-quality search engine that costs them nothing to use.” 

Read more about how the DOJ’s remedies would be dangerous for innovation and harm consumers here, here, and here.