US Court Rules Google Created Illegal Monopoly, Citing Billions Spent to Crush Competition

In a landmark decision, a US court ruled that Google has established an illegal monopoly, leveraging its dominance to stifle competition and innovation. This ruling marks the first major success for US authorities against Big Tech’s dominance.

US District Judge Amit Mehta concluded in a 277-page ruling that Google acted to maintain its monopoly, enjoying an 89.2% market share for general search services, rising to 94.9% on mobile devices.

US Attorney General Merrick Garland hailed the decision as a historic win, emphasizing that no company is above the law. The ruling is a significant blow to Google and its parent company, Alphabet, which argued that its dominance was due to consumer preference.

Google’s search engine processes about 8.5 billion daily queries worldwide, nearly double from 12 years ago, according to investment firm BOND. Despite the ruling, Google’s global affairs president, Kent Walker, announced plans to appeal, highlighting that Mehta acknowledged Google as the best search engine.

The decision sets the stage for a second trial to determine potential remedies, possibly including breaking up Alphabet. This is the first major verdict among several antitrust cases against Big Tech, including Meta, Amazon, and Apple.

The Google case, initiated under former President Donald Trump, continued through bipartisan support, underscoring the commitment to antitrust enforcement.

Senator Amy Klobuchar praised the ruling as a victory for competition, depicting Google as a monopolist that thwarted rivals to protect its digital advertising revenue, which totalled nearly $240 billion last year. The Justice Department argued that Google’s monopoly led to inflated advertiser prices and hindered search engine improvements, harming users.

Mehta highlighted Google’s expenditure of over $26 billion in 2021 alone to secure default agreements for its search engine on mobile devices and gadgets. Experts anticipate the appeal process could delay any immediate impacts on users and advertisers.