A US federal judge ruled on 05 August 2024 that Google violated antitrust laws as it built its Internet search business. The decision might have major implications for the way people use the Internet. The court ruled that payments to make Google the default search engine on other browsers broke US antitrust rules, enabling Google to become a monopoly. The court further ruled that Google had acted illegally to suppress its competition and maintain a monopoly on online search and related highly lucrative advertising.
The case began in 2020 and concerns the billions of dollars that Google's parent company has. Alphabet paid companies that make web browsers and smartphones, including Apple and Samsung, to make sure Google is the underlying technology, the default setting, or the only option in their search engines. Those payments, totaling $26 billion in 2021, secured Google's monopoly on online search and generated $146 billion in annual revenue from search ads in 2021. According to the court filing. “Google’s dominance has gone unchallenged for well over a decade. In 2009, 80% of all search queries in the United States already went through Google,” says the US District Court for the District of Columbia.[1]
In the 286-page document, Judge Amit Mehta noted that Google's dominance in US search queries was 90% by 2020 and 95% on mobile devices. After a nine-week trial and 3,500 exhibits, Mehta said the court concluded that Google was a “monopolist” and has actively sought to maintain that monopoly.
Alphabet said it would appeal the ruling, although, like the original case, the appeal process could take years. A future trial will have to decide the outcome of Google's monopoly in search, which might include an order to break up Alphabet. Other possible solutions include banning Google from offering search deals or opening its search system to different providers.
US legislators welcomed the judgment, and the White House press secretary said it was a "victory for the American people." Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar said it could herald further sector regulation on X. "This is a huge victory for the American people and shows the importance of enforcing our antitrust laws and why I am advocating for competition rules of the road for monopoly tech companies,”
US Attorney General Garland echoed that, saying the case was a "Historic win" and adding in a press release: “No company, no matter how large or influential, is above the law. The Justice Department will continue to vigorously enforce our antitrust laws." During the trial, Google argued that rival search engines were not as efficient and that the trial should consider other ways to search the internet, such as via social media.
Evidence was also presented about Google being forced to offer various search engine options in Europe to comply with the European Union's recently enforced Digital Market Act. However, this appears to have had little impact and was rejected.
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[1] https://www.cybersecurityintelligence.com/blog/googles-online-search-dominance-rs-illegal-7838.html
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