A federal judge in the US ruled on Monday that Google has unlawfully established a monopoly in two sectors: search and text advertising. The case, initiated by the government in 2020, alleged that Google maintained its dominance in the search market through barriers to entry and a feedback loop that reinforced its position, thus violating the Sherman Act’s Section 2 against monopolies.
Judge Amit Mehta from the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia accused Google of protecting its monopoly. The Justice Department and a bipartisan coalition of 38 states and territories, spearheaded by Colorado and Nebraska, brought forth comparable antitrust cases in 2020, which were consolidated for preliminary rulings. Google faced antitrust allegations in Europe as well in 2017, resulting in a €2.42 billion fine for distorting search results.
Attorney General Merrick Garland described the ruling as a significant win for the American public, underscoring that no corporation can evade legal consequences. The ruling centered on Google’s exclusive search agreements on Android and Apple devices, asserting that they reinforced anticompetitive practices and Google’s control over the search industry.
The court decided that Google functioned as a monopoly in general search services and text advertising related to searches. Nonetheless, the ruling stated that general-search advertising does not form a market, thus monopoly control is not possible.
Kent Walker, the president of global affairs at Google, stated that the company plans to challenge the ruling, emphasizing the excellence of Google’s products. Alphabet’s shares dropped by more than 4% on Monday due to a broader global decline in stocks.
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