"Google Is A Monopolist": US Judge Rules In Antitrust Case

Tech giant Google has lost a landmark antitrust lawsuit from the US Department of Justice. A federal judge ruled on Monday that Google acted illegally to maintain a monopoly in online search. The latest decision is a major blow to Google but a victory for the country's federal authorities targeting Big Tech's market dominance. Meanwhile, the White House called the ruling “a victory for the American people.” 

“After having carefully considered and weighed the witness testimony and evidence, the court reaches the following conclusion: Google is a monopolist, and it has acted as one to maintain its monopoly,” Judge Amit P. Mehta of the US District Court for the District of Columbia wrote in a 277-page ruling, as quoted by TechCrunch. The Justice Department and states filed the antitrust lawsuit against the company in 2020. It is not clear what the ruling will mean for the future of Google’s business. It should be noted that the ruling did not include remedies for Google’s behavior. Reports suggest that the judge may force the company to change the way it runs its search business or order it to sell off parts of that business.

According to TechCrunch, Google pays various companies billions of dollars for prime placement in web browsers and on smartphones. The search giant reportedly spent $26 billion in 2021 to be the default search engine across Apple and Android platforms. The US government argued that paying to secure the dominant position restricted competitors from being able to create their own search engines to a level that would allow them to maintain their competitiveness.

At the same time, Google is planning to appeal Judge Mehta's ruling. "This decision recognizes that Google offers the best search engine, but concludes that we shouldn’t be allowed to make it easily available," the company said in a statement, as quoted by Reuters.