Google has illegal monopoly on internet search, US judge rules

On Monday, Judge Amit P. Mehta of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that Google violated antitrust laws by attempting to establish a monopoly on the online search industry.

Google has been accused of paying companies like Apple, Samsung, and Mozilla to make Google search the default on their devices, thereby damaging the chances of competing search engines.

“Google is a monopoly and operates as a monopoly to maintain that status,” the ruling said.

Google tried to argue at the hearing that its success is not the result of monopolistic practices, but of its incredible range of products. It then added that the difference in numbers seems so huge because it is compared only to other search engines.

Google believes that to better understand the market, its data should be compared to that of companies like Amazon that rely on web traffic.

Kent added that the ruling confirms that Apple and Mozilla conduct routine evaluations and that Google has proven time and time again that it is better than its rivals.

This is a huge setback for Google and could change its trajectory because he may even be asked to sell part of his business. What’s more, this ruling also has the potential to change the way we use the internet. With that in mind, Google has decided to appeal the decision.

It is worth noting that the ruling finds Google guilty of violating antitrust law, and a separate proceeding will determine what steps it must take to bring itself back into compliance with the law.

A Brief History of the Case

The antitrust lawsuit was filed filed by the Department of Justice and a group of US states in 2020. (the trial will begin in 2023) over the practice of paying companies billions of dollars to set Google as the default search engine on their devices.

For example, according to a New York Times report, Apple alone received about $18 billion from Google.

Research shows that Google controls over 90% of the search industrywhich means it is also gaining a dominant position in the sponsored advertising market, further widening the gap between Google and other competing search engines.