Google Ruled a Monopolist, Guilty of Antitrust Violations in Landmark Case

Google’s Monopolistic Practices Exposed

In a his­toric rul­ing, a fed­er­al judge has deter­mined that Google vio­lat­ed fed­er­al antitrust laws by build­ing a dom­i­nant posi­tion in the online search and adver­tis­ing mar­kets through anti­com­pet­i­tive practices. 

The deci­sion marks a sig­nif­i­cant vic­to­ry for the Jus­tice Depart­ment, which argued that Google’s lucra­tive default search engine deals with tech giants like Apple, Sam­sung, and AT&T were exclu­sion­ary and sti­fled competition.

Damning Verdict Against Google

Judge Amit Mehta sided with the DOJ, con­clud­ing that “Google is a monop­o­list, and it has act­ed as one to main­tain its monopoly.” 

The judge found that Google’s default search engine deals were “exclu­sive and have anti­com­pet­i­tive effects,” allow­ing the tech titan to main­tain its dom­i­nant 90% mar­ket share and dwarf­ing rival search engines like Microsoft and DuckDuckGo.

Potential Fallout and Implications

This land­mark rul­ing could have wide-rang­ing con­se­quences for Google’s busi­ness mod­el, which gen­er­ates over $300 bil­lion in annu­al rev­enue from its dig­i­tal adver­tis­ing operations. 

A sep­a­rate tri­al will deter­mine the appro­pri­ate reme­dies, with experts sug­gest­ing the court may force Google to stop its default search deals.

A Victory for Antitrust Enforcement

Attor­ney Gen­er­al Mer­rick Gar­land hailed the deci­sion as a “his­toric win for the Amer­i­can peo­ple,” sig­nal­ing the DOJ’s com­mit­ment to vig­or­ous­ly enforc­ing antitrust laws against tech giants. 

The rul­ing is also a rare suc­cess for the gov­ern­ment in a Sec­tion 2 antitrust case, which are noto­ri­ous­ly dif­fi­cult to win.

Google’s Response and Ongoing Battles

Despite the damn­ing ver­dict, Google plans to appeal the ruling. 

The com­pa­ny’s pres­i­dent of glob­al affairs, Kent Walk­er, argued that the deci­sion “should­n’t be allowed to make [Google’s search engine] eas­i­ly available.” 

Google also faces oth­er antitrust chal­lenges, includ­ing a sep­a­rate DOJ case over its online adver­tis­ing technology.