Google Found Guilty of Violating Antitrust Laws
In a landmark decision, a US federal judge ruled that Google violated antitrust laws by leveraging its dominance in online searches to suppress competition. This ruling could significantly reshape the operations of America's largest tech companies.
Judge Amit P. Mehta found that Google, which handles approximately 90% of global internet searches, exploited its leading position to exclude rivals. This marks the first major antitrust victory for the US Justice Department in over two decades.
"Google is a monopolist, and it has acted as one to maintain its monopoly," wrote Judge Mehta in a comprehensive 276-page decision. This case is the initial ruling in a series of lawsuits targeting alleged technology monopolies.
The ruling sets the stage for a second trial to determine corrective measures, potentially including a ban on payments to smartphone manufacturers for setting Google as the default search engine.
Google spent $26.3 billion in 2021 to secure its search engine as the default on smartphones and web browsers, maintaining its dominant market share. Google CEO Sundar Pichai acknowledged the importance of this default status for user loyalty.
Google's legal team argued that the default status had limited impact and that users could easily switch. However, the judge disagreed, finding that Google's actions harmed competition and consumers.
US Attorney General Merrick Garland hailed the ruling as a "historic win for the American people." He stated that the Justice Department will continue to vigorously enforce antitrust laws.
Google intends to appeal the ruling. The company maintains that it offers the best search engine and that people are increasingly looking for information in more and more ways.