WASHINGTON: U.S. judge declared Google guilty of spending billions to create and maintain an illegal monopoly for its search engine.
This decision marks a significant victory for U.S. authorities in their fight against the dominance of Big Tech, a concern shared across the political spectrum.
On Monday, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta released a 277-page ruling stating, “Google is a monopolist, and it has acted as one to maintain its monopoly.” The court found Google’s overwhelming market share as evidence of its monopoly power.
According to the ruling, Google holds an 89.2% share of the general search services market, which rises to 94.9% on mobile devices.
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland hailed the decision as “a historic win for the American people,” emphasizing that no company, regardless of its size or influence, is above the law.
This ruling delivers a major blow to Google and its parent company, Alphabet. Google had argued its dominance resulted from consumers’ preference for its search engine.
Google processes an estimated 8.5 billion search queries daily worldwide, nearly doubling its daily volume from 12 years ago, according to a recent study by investment firm BOND. Despite the ruling, Google’s global affairs president, Kent Walker, announced the company’s intention to appeal, noting that the judge had acknowledged Google as the best search engine in the industry.
Walker stated, “Given this, and that people are increasingly looking for information in more and more ways, we plan to appeal.” The ruling sets the stage for a second trial to determine possible remedies, including a potential breakup of Alphabet. Such a breakup could drastically alter the online advertising landscape, which Google has dominated for years.
This case is the first major decision in a series of legal battles against alleged monopolies in Big Tech, including Meta (owner of Facebook and Instagram), Amazon, and Apple.
The Google case, initiated by former President Donald Trump’s administration, went to trial from September to November last year.
Senator Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat and chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s antitrust subcommittee, noted the bipartisan support for antitrust enforcement, saying, “It’s a huge victory for the American people that antitrust enforcement is alive and well when it comes to competition. Google is a rampant monopolist.”
Justice Department lawyers depicted Google as a technological bully that stifled competition to protect its search engine, the centerpiece of a digital advertising empire generating nearly $240 billion in revenue last year. The ruling highlighted Google’s annual spending of billions to secure its search engine as the default option on new mobile devices and gadgets. In 2021 alone, Google spent over $26 billion on these default agreements, the judge noted.
Experts believe the appeal process could take years, potentially delaying any immediate impact on users and advertisers.
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