Google found guilty of monopoly: Judge rules Google illegally maintained search and ad monopoly

TECH STARTUPS

Google has been found guilty of monopoly after losing a major antitrust case. In a court hearing on Monday, a federal US judge ruled that Google abused its power and illegally maintained a monopoly in search and text advertising.

The landmark case, filed in 202o by the US government, alleged that Google maintained its dominance in the general search market through anti-competitive practices. This pivotal decision, the first of its kind against a tech giant in decades, found that Google breached Section 2 of the Sherman Act, which prohibits monopolistic behavior.

The news sent shares of Google’s parent company, Alphabet, tumbling more than 4%, contributing to a broader global decline in stock markets, according to a report from CNBC.

“Google is a monopolist, and it has acted as one to maintain its monopoly,” wrote Judge Amit Mehta of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in his ruling.

Google Loses Major DOJ Antitrust Lawsuit Over Its Search Dominance

The Department of Justice, alongside a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general from 38 states and territories led by Colorado and Nebraska, initiated similar antitrust lawsuits against Google in 2020. These cases were consolidated for pretrial proceedings, including evidence discovery.

Attorney General Merrick Garland hailed the ruling as a “historic win for the American people,” emphasizing that no corporation is exempt from the law. “The Justice Department will continue to vigorously enforce our antitrust laws,” Garland stated.

The court’s decision focused on Google’s exclusive search arrangements on Android devices and Apple’s iPhone and iPad, which were deemed instrumental in reinforcing Google’s anti-competitive behavior and market dominance.

The ruling specified that Google’s core search engine and its text advertisements alongside search results constituted monopolistic practices. However, the court did not recognize general search advertising as a distinct market, thus not subject to monopoly control.

Kent Walker, Google’s president of global affairs, announced the company’s intention to appeal the decision, underscoring the court’s acknowledgment of Google’s superior search product. “This decision recognizes that Google offers the best search engine but concludes that we shouldn’t be allowed to make it easily available,” Walker commented. “As this process continues, we will remain focused on making products that people find helpful and easy to use.”

This is not the first time Google has been accused of abusing its power. In 2022, Google agreed to pay $90 million to settle a class-action lawsuit with app developers over alleged anti-competitive behavior regarding Google’s App Store policies and also for enticing users to make in-app purchases.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai

THIS ARTICLE ORIGINALLY APPEARED IN TECH STARTUPS