A US judge has ruled that Google acted illegally to crush competition and keep a monopoly on online search and advertising. This landmark decision, made on Monday, is a major setback for Google’s parent company, Alphabet, and could change how big tech companies operate.
In 2020, the US Department of Justice sued Google over its control of about 90% of the online search market. This case is one of several lawsuits against big tech companies by US antitrust authorities trying to promote competition in the industry.
This ruling is considered a significant threat to Google and its dominance in search and online advertising. The penalties Google and Alphabet will face will be decided later. The government has asked for “structural relief,” which could mean breaking up the company.
Judge Amit Mehta stated that Google paid billions to be the default search engine on smartphones and browsers. “Google is a monopolist, and it has acted as one to maintain its monopoly,” Judge Mehta wrote in his 277-page opinion.
Alphabet plans to appeal the ruling. Google argued that the decision acknowledges it offers the best search engine but says it shouldn’t make it easily available.
US Attorney General Merrick Garland called the ruling a “historic win for the American people,” emphasizing that no company is above the law. He stated that the Justice Department will continue to enforce antitrust laws vigorously.
Other big tech companies like Facebook owner Meta Platforms, Amazon, and Apple are also facing lawsuits for operating unlawful monopolies. The ruling came after a 10-week trial in Washington DC, where prosecutors said Google spent billions annually to be the default search engine on platforms like Apple, Samsung, and Mozilla. Google reportedly pays more than $10 billion a year to secure this position, maintaining its market dominance by accessing a steady stream of user data.
Prosecutors argued that Google’s payments prevented other companies from competing effectively. Google’s lawyer defended the company, saying users prefer their search engine because it’s useful, and Google invests in improving it. “Google is winning because it’s better,” said Google’s lawyer John Schmidtlein.
Judge Mehta concluded that being the default search engine is extremely valuable for Google. He noted that even if a new competitor had a quality product, they would need to pay billions to compete with Google’s established deals.
Another trial against Google over its advertising technology is set for September. In Europe, Google has already been fined billions in similar monopoly cases.
BBC provided extensive coverage of this case.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0k44x6mge3o