Eric Schmidt stepped down from parent company board of Google Alphabet Inc. in 2019
Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt said social media “excesses” are expected to lead to increased regulation of internet platforms in the years to come.
Schmidt, who left the board of directors of parent company Google Alphabet Inc. in 2019 but is still one of its largest shareholders, said the U.S. government’s antitrust lawsuit against the company on Tuesday was misplaced , but that more regulation may be needed for social media. in general.
“The context of social media serving as amplifiers for idiots and lunatics is not what we wanted,” Schmidt said at a virtual conference hosted by The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday. “Unless the industry pulls itself together in a really smart way, there will be regulation.”
Google’s YouTube has attempted to curb the spread of disinformation and lies about Covid-19 and US politics over the past year, with mixed results. Facebook Inc. and Twitter Inc. have also come under fire in recent years for allowing racist and discriminatory messages to spread online.
Schmidt also argued that Google’s massive search activity – the target of the US Department of Justice’s antitrust lawsuit – continues to be so successful because people choose it over its competitors, not because she uses her size to block her little rivals.
“I would be careful with those dominance arguments. I just don’t agree with them,” Schmidt said. “Google’s market share is not 100%.”
