Is a Breakup of Google Coming? Australia’s Move to Ban Young Teens From Social Media, and How to Engage Students in the Classroom

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Prof G Pod with Scott Galloway Episode: Is a Breakup of Google Coming? Australia’s Move to Ban Young Teens From Social Media, and How to Engage Students in the Classroom
Release Date: November 27, 2024
Host: Scott Galloway
Network: Vox Media Podcast Network

---

1. The Google Antitrust Case and Potential Breakup

In this episode, Scott Galloway delves into the ongoing antitrust case against Google, exploring the possibility of the tech giant being dismantled into separate entities. The discussion is sparked by a listener question from Adam, a professor in Chicago, who predicts that by 2025, Google could be split into four distinct companies: Search and AI, Cloud, YouTube, and Waymo.

Key Points:

• Historical Context: The antitrust scrutiny began in 2020 when the Trump Administration filed the first major antitrust case against Google in the internet era, accusing the company of maintaining an illegal monopoly in online search.
• Current Status: A judge has already ruled against Google in parts of the case, with a second trial scheduled to determine potential penalties.
• Potential Breakup: Adam suggests that breaking Google into its major segments could unlock significant shareholder value and pressure other mega-cap companies to follow suit.

Notable Quotes:

• "I can't see them being broken up." (03:57)
• "These organizations are run by people. They have different objectives than just doing what's right for shareholders." (06:01)
• "These companies are run by individuals and they love having having sitting on the iron throne of all of the seven realms, not just Westeros." (06:01)

Galloway expresses skepticism about the feasibility of such a breakup, emphasizing corporate resistance and the entrenched interests of top executives. He argues that while the idea is rational from an investor’s perspective, the reality of corporate governance and leadership priorities makes a breakup unlikely. However, he acknowledges the potential long-term benefits of reducing concentrated market power and enhancing competition.

---

2. Australia's Move to Ban Social Media for Young Teens

The podcast transitions to a significant policy change in Australia, where the government has announced plans to implement a minimum age of 16 for access to social media platforms. This initiative aims to protect younger users from online harms such as bullying, predatory behavior, and algorithm-driven harmful content.

Key Points:

• Legislation Overview: The policy, influenced by Professor Jonathan Haidt's work, particularly his book The Anxious Generation, mandates social media companies like TikTok, Instagram, and X to enforce age restrictions and enhance user safety.
• Implementation Challenges: Australia is trialing various age verification methods, including biometric verification and government-issued ID uploads. However, these methods raise significant security and privacy concerns, potentially undermining the policy's effectiveness.
• Economic Implications: Scott highlights that social media companies generate substantial revenue from advertising to users under 18, estimated at $11 billion annually. Implementing age restrictions could significantly impact their business models and valuations.

Notable Quotes:

• "Platforms including TikTok, Instagram and X will need to actively protect users by regularly reviewing and addressing safety risks." (09:01)
• "I don't see this happening. I wonder if there will be a breakup." (06:01)
• "They don't... this is about money and nothing else." (10:34)

Galloway criticizes the practicality of enforcing age restrictions, pointing out the likelihood of social media companies finding ways to circumvent the rules. He also touches on the broader implications for free speech, sarcastically noting that free speech should be a priority even for 13-year-olds. Despite acknowledging the policy's intentions to mitigate online harms, he remains doubtful about its successful implementation and effectiveness.

---

3. Engaging Students in the Classroom: Strategies for Small Groups

The final segment addresses educational strategies, responding to a question from Molly Stark, a new journalism instructor at the New School. Molly seeks advice on transitioning from teaching large groups to engaging small classes of fewer than 20 students, particularly in the context of grading AI-assisted projects.

Key Points:

• Teaching Philosophy: Galloway emphasizes the importance of active student engagement and the Socratic method in small classes. He advocates for creating an environment where every student participates, fostering critical thinking and dynamic discussions.
• Grading AI Projects: While admitting uncertainty in grading AI-generated work, Galloway shares his approach of identifying AI-written material and encouraging students to demonstrate their understanding and originality.
• Classroom Dynamics: He recommends structuring classes to balance content delivery with interactive debates and discussions. By calling on students multiple times, he ensures participation and deepens the learning experience.

Notable Quotes:

• "If everyone hasn't spoken at least once during the class, you have failed." (18:28)
• "You can really, I... know you're going to call on them three or four times. And that creates a level of intensity and excitement." (17:42)
• "You are a maestro for a really robust conversation." (18:29)

Galloway shares personal anecdotes about managing large classes versus small groups, highlighting the benefits of intimate settings for fostering meaningful interactions. He advises Molly to leverage her strengths in public speaking to create an engaging and intellectually stimulating classroom environment, ensuring that each student is actively involved in discussions and debates.

---

Conclusion

In this episode, Scott Galloway addresses pressing issues in the tech industry and education. From the potential dismantling of Google amidst antitrust battles to Australia's stringent measures on social media for minors, Galloway provides a critical analysis of how these developments could reshape corporate landscapes and societal norms. Additionally, he offers practical advice for educators navigating the complexities of modern classrooms, emphasizing engagement and adaptability in teaching methodologies.

---

Note: For a complete understanding and additional insights, listeners are encouraged to tune into the full episode of The Prof G Pod with Scott Galloway.

Transcript

[Scott Galloway]

Support for Profg comes from Toyota we're all doing our best to stay sane in today's busy world. And you know what could be a great place to start making your commute.

[Adam]

Less of a chore.

[Scott Galloway]

With a Toyota Crown, it can actually become a retreat. Whether you're looking for a sleek sedan or an impressive suv, the Toyota Crown family comes with the quality and reliability that Toyota is known for, along with bold and elegant exterior styles. Learn [e-mail] toyotacrownfamily toyota let's go Places Support for the show comes from Ferragamo, it's the holidays and gift giving is top of mind. And now you can give this season a taste of luxury with Ferragamo's innovative wrapping service where every present is wrapped like delicious candy. Each carefully wrapped gift tells a story, and under that wrapping you can find some truly iconic signature Ferragamo items. Join Ferragamo in celebrating the spirit of the holidays with a collection that promises to evoke wonder in every recipient, from small leather goods to the iconic hug handbag, bag or Ferragamo loafers and belts. Visit ferragamo.com to discover the best holiday gifts for the entire family.

[Sequoia Capital]

Support for the show comes from the new season of Crucible Moments, a podcast from Sequoia Capital. What is a Crucible Moment? It's a turning point where we face a tough decision and our response can shape the rest of our lives. These decisions happen in business too, and Sequoia Capital's podcast Crucible Moments gives you a behind the scenes look asking founders of some of the world's most important tech companies like YouTube, DoorDash, Reddit, and more to reflect on those critical junctures that defined who they are today. Tune into Season two of Crucible Moments today. You can also catch up on season one at cruciblemoments.com or wherever you listen to podcasts.

[Scott Galloway]

Welcome to the Propgy Pods Office Hours. This is the part of the show where we answer your questions about business, big tech, entrepreneurship and whatever else is on your mind. If you'd like to submit a question, please email a voice recording to officehoursoptudenemedia.com Again, that's officehoursoptudemedia.com so with that first.

[Adam]

Question, I have not seen or read these questions.

Hi Scott, I'm Adam from Chicago. I'm a professor at Large Public University and I'm a big fan of the pod, especially your views on higher education. I had a prediction for 2025 that I wanted to share to get your perspective. I think the Google antitrust case will lead to a breakup of Google into four separate companies, Search and AI, Cloud, YouTube and Waymo. This will unlock significant value for a mega cap stock that is underperformed compared to its peers. If this happens, other mega caps may follow suit. What do you think?

[Scott Galloway]

And thanks, Adam from Chicago. Thanks for the question, Professor. You're thinking rationally and I have learned the hard way that's not how this market works. What's going on with the Google antitrust case? In 2020, Trump's Justice Department threw the antitrust hammer at Google, claiming they had an illegal monopoly in online search. This is a big deal. It was the first antitrust case of its kind in the Internet era. Since then, governments have argued that Google.

[Adam]

Made illegal deals to ensure its search.

[Scott Galloway]

Engine is the default on most devices. Now the stakes are getting higher. A judge already ruled against Google and part of the case. And a second trial is coming up.

[Adam]

In April to figure out what kind.

[Scott Galloway]

Of penalty they might face. They were found guilty of monopoly maintenance, mostly because they paid the biggest fee to Apple to be the default search engine and they thought no one else could compete with them. It's anti competitive behavior. They're trying to figure out what the remedies of this guilty verdict would be. And they could be a regulator sitting.

[Adam]

There and telling them that you can't.

[Scott Galloway]

Do this, you can do this. A breakup, some sort of fine. So the question you're asking is, could the remedy be a breakup and what would that breakup look like? I can't see them being broken up.

[Adam]

Into four distinct units.

[Scott Galloway]

And you're saying a deconglomeration would add more shareholder value.

[Adam]

And I actually believe you.

[Scott Galloway]

I think in conglomerates, what you tend to find is the whole is less than the sum of its parts. And the thing you didn't mention is that I've done some analysis around YouTube. If you ask most people what is the leading streaming platform, they'd say Netflix. And they would be wrong. Netflix commands about 8% of total viewership time, whereas Google, excuse me, while Alphabet's YouTube gets about 10%. And if you applied the same multiple on revenues, YouTube does more revenues than Netflix. And if you applied the same multiple YouTube on its own entity as a spin, would be worth somewhere between 5 and $600 billion. Would be worth more than bank of America or LVMH or Salesforce. And the disposition of assets or spin of assets in a conglomerate structure creates more value, per your point.

[Adam]

Why?

[Scott Galloway]

Because CEOs and controlling shareholders love to have a big fat fucking company, especially one of power and prosperity, and they don't like managing different ones.

[Adam]

And CEOs love a bigger company because.

[Scott Galloway]

Their compensation is based on two things, the performance of the company and how big the company is.

[Adam]

In addition, it makes them sleep easier.

[Scott Galloway]

At night when they conglomerate.

[Adam]

Because if YouTube isn't doing well, then.

[Scott Galloway]

Most likely their cloud or Waymo is doing well. All right?

[Adam]

And the fact of the matter is.

[Scott Galloway]

That investors don't need CEOs to diversify for them. I could go buy my own video search engine called YouTube. I would like to be able to do that. I'd like to be able to specifically say I like, I don't believe in autonomous driving, but I believe in video search. I want to invest in YouTube and not Waymo. Or I think that search is challenged by AI. Or I think it's going to be just fine and has been overly punished. So I wanted to go into search, but I don't want to be in the cloud. Whatever, right? Unfortunately, they don't do that. They conglomerate and they claim there's efficiencies.

[Adam]

And there may be, there may be.

[Scott Galloway]

So many efficiencies here between coordinating and cooperating that they in fact make it impossible for anyone else.

[Adam]

They're both on the buy and the.

[Scott Galloway]

Sell side in digital marketing and they make the market anyways. I just don't see this happening. I wonder if there will be a breakup.

[Adam]

I hope there is.

[Scott Galloway]

It would probably be something around their ad tech. They probably maybe have to spin the old double click or their ad stack or their ad model or their ad technology, if you will. But the idea you're looking at this rationally, from an investor standpoint, what would make the most sense? But here's the thing. These companies are run by individuals and they love having having sitting on the iron throne of all of the seven realms, not just Westeros. So while what you're saying makes sense, it's just unlikely to happen. These organizations are run by people. They have different objectives than just doing what's right for shareholders, if you will. The biggest tax cut in the world right now would be if China and the US made up. They have manufacturing, we have consumer demand, we have debt, they have cash. I mean, for God's sakes, it's Fred and fucking Ginger. For the global economy, that would be the biggest tax cut. The second biggest tax cut would be if we took the big guys, Amazon, Alphabet, Google and Apple and broke them up into 11 or 12 companies. That would be the best way to Oxygenate the marketplace. They have such concentration of power in their specific categories that the rents they charge on consumers, whether it's what they charge you for your iPhone or the ad fees on Amazon, which have gone from about 20% of total gross merchandise volume to like 45%, all the rents need to come down on businesses.

[Adam]

Biggest corporate tax cut in history wouldn't.

[Scott Galloway]

Be under Trump, it would be under the FTC or doj. Breaking these companies up. Anyways, that's my rant. We'll see what happens here Professor. But call me, call me skeptical. Question number two hi Prof. G. My.

[Ned]

Name is Ned from Melbourne, Australia. I love your work and thank you for contributing to making our discourse less coarse and more informed. You've often spoken about the need to age gate social Media the Australian government has recently announced plans to impose a minimum age of 16 years to access social media platforms. The concept has broadly bipartisan support. However, there are some real practical issues that are unfolding, namely how to verify that someone is indeed over 16. Options discussed include biometric verification and uploading approved forms of id. Given the well founded security and privacy concerns, this is in danger of scuppering this otherwise worthwhile policy initiative. Would love to hear your thoughts and thanks again for all that you do.

[Scott Galloway]

Thanks for the thoughtful question. Nadal from Australia so the most influential scholar in the world right now is my colleague Jonathan Haidt and everything we're talking about here. Phones being banned in schools Social media being banned for kids under the age of 16 has largely been a function of Jonathan's landmark book, the Anxious Generation. So effectively, Australia is planning to make social media platforms take action to prevent online harms including bullying, predatory behavior and harmful content pushed by algorithms. They're calling it the digital duty of care. Platforms including TikTok, Instagram and X will need to actively protect users by regularly.

[Adam]

Reviewing and addressing safety risks. The plan will ban kids under 16.

[Scott Galloway]

From these social media platforms. Some critics argue that banning younger users of these platforms could reduce the pressure on these platforms to improve safety features. That's fucking ridiculous. If young people aren't on there, that will decrease the likelihood they'll put in.

[Adam]

Safety restrictions for young people.

[Scott Galloway]

I mean that makes no sense.

[Adam]

Literally. These people have no shame.

[Scott Galloway]

And my favorite is that it would squelch free speech.

[Adam]

Yeah, my 13 year old needs free.

[Scott Galloway]

Speech more than he needs protection from this bullshit that makes him insecure and want to self harm.

[Adam]

Yeah okay, free speech for 13 year olds.

[Scott Galloway]

That's our top priority. The legislation covers a wide range of harms, including mental Health impacts on young people, harmful practices and illegal activities. There will be no exemptions for children with parental consent or who already have accounts.

[Adam]

What's the plan?

[Scott Galloway]

Now? Australia is trialing an age verification system that includes methods including biometrics and government identification to help block children from accessing these social media platforms. So these companies. Right, Social media companies, or companies with a social offering, make $11 billion a year advertising to people under the age of 18. And when you take a multiple of whatever it is, 10 to 15 times revenues, you're talking about essentially somewhere between 100 billion and a quarter of a trillion dollars by their ability to continue to advertise to young people despite the harms.

[Adam]

So they're gonna do everything they can. They're gonna nod or pretend to give.

[Scott Galloway]

A flying fuck about the Commonwealth and children. They don't. By the way, a majority of tech executives do not allow their kids on.

[Adam]

Smartphones or on social media.

[Scott Galloway]

Why?

[Adam]

Because they know how mendacious this shit is. This is about money and nothing else. Do you really think they care about your kids? Free speech or ensuring that the LGBTQ.

[Scott Galloway]

Community has a chance out and find other kids?

Yeah.

[Adam]

This is not perfect legislation. But on the whole. On the whole, stop signs have a.

[Scott Galloway]

Downside, but they still make a lot of sense.

[Adam]

I don't doubt that there are probably.

[Scott Galloway]

Three or four, I don't know, or instances of people that had a terrible reaction to the vaccines.

[Adam]

I don't doubt it.

[Scott Galloway]

And guess what? It's still hugely worth it.

[Adam]

This is just so unnatural that we've.

[Scott Galloway]

Let this go on for so long. So kudos to Australia for trying to implement and do something about it. The legislation will be introduced to the Australian Parliament this year and if approved, will take effect 12 months later. And again, for those of you who are thinking about academia or don't think a book can change the world, they are banning phones in countries because of a book called the Anxious Generation by Professor Jonathan Hyde.

[Adam]

Also a lovely guy.

[Scott Galloway]

He's a lovely guy. Anyways, thanks for the question. We have one quick break before our final question. Stay with us.

Support for Profg comes from Mint Mobile. You're probably paying too much for your cell phone plan. It's one of those budgetary line items that always looks pretty ugly and it might feel like there's nothing you can do about it. That's where Mint Mobile has something to say. Mint Mobile's latest deal might challenge your idea of what a phone plan costs. If you make the switch now, you'll pay just $15 a month when you purchase a new three month phone plan. All Mint Mobile plans come with high speed data on unlimited talks and text delivered on the nation's largest 5D network. You can even keep your phone, your contacts and your number. It doesn't get much easier than that to get this new customer offer and your new three month premium wireless plan. For just 15 bucks a month you can go to mintmobile.com profg that's mintmobile.com profg. You can cut your wireless bill to 15 bucks a month at mintmobile.com propgar 45 dollar upfront payment required equivalent to $15 a month new customers on a first three month plan only speed slower about 40 gigabytes on unlimited plan. Additional taxes, fees and restrictions apply. See Mint Mobile for details.

[Molly Stark]

Support for Prop G comes from Masterclass this holiday season. Sure, you could give your loved ones some trendy junk that maybe they'll love for a few weeks before they inevitably get bored. Or you could give a gift with the potential to last a lifetime with Masterclass. Masterclass is the streaming platform that brings invaluable insights from the world's greatest minds straight to you. According to Masterclass, 88% of members say they feel that it made a positive impact on their lives. So with Masterclass, you and your loved ones can learn from the best to become the best.

[Scott Galloway]

Plus, there's no risk.

[Molly Stark]

Every new membership comes with a 30 day money back guarantee. Personally I'd be interested to check out and I did Bob Iger's view on managing the creative process. I think he's an interesting, interesting manager and wanted to learn more about managing creatives as we do here at Profg Media. Masterclass always has great offers during the holidays, sometimes up to as much as 50% off. Head over to masterclass.com Prof. G for the current offer. That's up to 50% off at masterclass.com Prof. G masterclass.com Prof. G.

[Scott Galloway]

Support for Prof. G comes from Fundrise Artificial intelligence.

Is poised to be one of the.

Biggest wealth creation events in history. Some experts expect AI to add more than $15 trillion to the global economy by 2030. Unfortunately, your portfolio probably doesn't own the biggest names in AI. That's because most of the AI revolution is largely being built and funded in private markets. That means the vast majority of AI startups are going to be backed and owned by venture capitalists, not public investors. But with the launch of the Fundrise Innovation Fund last year, you can get in on it.

Now.

The innovation fund pairs $100 million plus venture portfolio of some of the biggest names in AI with one of the lowest investment minimums the venture industry has ever seen. Get in [e-mail] Prop G carefully consider the investment material before investing, including objectives, risks, charges and expenses. This and other information can be found at the Innovation funds prospectus@fundrise. This is a paid advertisement.

Welcome back. Question number three hi Scott, my name.

[Molly Stark]

Is Molly Stark, Dean. I'm a huge fan and an NYU alumni. I landed a new job at the New School teaching journalism in the machine. I feel really comfortable talking to large groups of people, but my class will be a small group of less than 20. How do I change my mass communication styles to accommodate the class size? Are there any secrets to teaching and grading AI projects? Any advice is welcome.

[Scott Galloway]

I'll take this in reverse order and thanks for the question Molly, and congratulations. I kind of fell into teaching. Actually that's not true. I knew I was wanted to teach. I was thinking about getting my PhD. My mom got sick, I capitated an MBA. But I've always wanted to go back to teaching. But I find it very rewarding. Basically, as a teacher at a university, you just have to be sort of the best student in the class. Some people are literally the expert in the domain. Most of us aren't.

[Adam]

We just do the reading and try.

[Scott Galloway]

And try and be very well prepared in class. But okay, so how to grade AI projects? Shit, I don't know. What I can tell you is that.

[Adam]

I now have an eye and can.

[Scott Galloway]

Spot shit written by AI and I'll circle it and say AI question mark. And when I say to my kids, my kids are the average is 28. These are adults working at Google and Salesforce and Bridgewater. And I'm like look, if you want to turn something in and you want to be AI and not do any work, have at it. But the whole point here is to learn some skills and generally speaking it's interesting. I can actually now pick out AI written material or at least I think I can. What I can help you with is all right if you're blessed to have I used to have when I first started my classes were only 20 or 30 kids. Word got out that it was a good class and now my classes are 300.

[Adam]

What you have or the advantage you.

[Scott Galloway]

Have with 20 kids, quite frankly, is the Socratic method and student engagement and that is you can get to know them and what you're meant to do. I think the best classes are I taught three hour sessions, was an hour of actual content and Lecturing and then two hours of critical thinking and debate. And that is, I would say, okay, should Nike take money out of advertising and open stores and vertical distribution? And I would say, ellen, please make an argument for this as it relates to trends in modern day branding about vertical distribution.

[Adam]

And then she'd get nervous and fumble.

[Scott Galloway]

Over herself and try and make, you know, a comment. And then I'd say, okay, Joe, disagree with her and show, you know, why she has this wrong. And then he'd even make something less cogent. But they'd kind of, the class would have time to absorb the issue and I'd start calling on people and asking them not to argue but to thoughtfully debate, really come out, come up with things, push back on them. I'm not afraid to say, look, that was really intelligent what you said.

[Adam]

What you need to be able to do is say it in a third.

[Scott Galloway]

Of the time because it'll be three times as powerful. I'm going to come back to it in 30 seconds. My point is you can really, I.

[Adam]

Don'T want to say get in their face, but really get in their heads and make it super engaged and create a little bit of tension that, you.

[Scott Galloway]

Know they know you're going to call on them three or four times. And that creates a level of intensity and excitement. By the way, it's not for everyone. Some kids don't like that. I once had a kid come to my, actually, I've had it several times. Say I get very nervous. I'd rather you didn't call on me. And I said, I'm going to continue to call on you, but you can say, I need a minute or I don't know and I'll come back to you and you're in a safe place.

[Adam]

But you have to get past this.

[Scott Galloway]

It's going to be very hard to be successful economically without the ability to speak in front of at least a.

[Adam]

Small group of people.

[Scott Galloway]

So anyways, play to your strengths. A small group of people, really active conversation with 20 kids. If everyone hasn't spoken at least once during the class, you have failed.

[Adam]

You're not as much a teacher as.

[Scott Galloway]

You are a maestro for a really robust conversation. But congratulations on your new role. I think it's very rewarding. Thanks for the question. That's all for this episode. If you'd like to submit a question, please email a voice recording to officehoursopropertymedia.com Again, that's officehoursoftenedia.com this episode was produced.

By Jennifer Sanchez and Caroline Chagrin. Drew Burrows is our Technical Director. Thank you for listening to the proposal.

From the Vox Media Podcast Network.

We will catch you on Saturday for no Mercy, no Malice as read by George Hahn. And please follow our Property Markets pod.

[Molly Stark]

Wherever you get your pods for new.

[Scott Galloway]

Episodes every Monday and Thursday.

[Adam]

Support for this episode comes from aws.

[Sequoia Capital]

AWS Generative AI gives you the tools.

[Scott Galloway]

To power your business forward with the.

[Adam]

Security and speed of the world's most.

[Scott Galloway]

Experienced Cloud.

[Nestle]

Food insecurity still affects millions of individuals around the globe, and Nestle, a global leader in nutrition, health and wellness, understands the importance of working together to create lasting change. Nestle's partnerships extend beyond just financial support. From building urban hoop houses to producing custom seasoning for food banks, Nestle and their partners actively engage with local communities, listening to their needs and working together to find innovative solutions. Nestle is committed to helping support thriving, resilient communities today and for generations to come. Together, we can help to build stronger, healthier communities. Learn [e-mail].