"Google is a monopoly": US court case against Google
Judge Amit Mehta declared: "Google is a monopolist and has acted as such to maintain its monopoly." The ruling refers to the billions Google has paid over the years to ensure its search engine is pre-installed on other companies' devices and browsers.
The amount of the fine Google will have to pay and other consequences of the guilty verdict will be decided at a later date. The lawsuit against Google by the U.S. Department of Justice was filed in 2020, during the Trump administration, and was joined by dozens of U.S. states. It has continued under President Joe Biden.
Attorney General Garland stated that the decision "shows that no company is above the law." The department argued that Google systematically excluded competitors like Bing from Microsoft or DuckDuckGo by using its billion-dollar exclusive deals with Apple or Samsung.
Last year alone, Google reportedly spent around $26 billion (approximately $24 billion) on exclusive deals for its search engine, with a significant portion going to Apple.
On Monday, Google announced it would appeal the ruling. Judge Mehta found that Google's search engine is of high quality, especially on mobile devices. Given this and the fact that people are increasingly searching for information in various ways, Google plans to appeal. The company will continue to focus on developing products that people find helpful and easy to use.
In the case, Google argued from Mountain View, California, that the success of its search engine is due to its superiority over competitors.
This is the largest such case against a technology company in the U.S. since the Microsoft case over 25 years ago. In 1998, Microsoft was sued over the dominance of its Windows operating system. The legal battles ended in 2001 with a settlement between the Justice Department and Microsoft, which prohibited certain business practices.
The Biden administration has also targeted other tech giants: there are ongoing cases against Apple, Amazon, and Meta (formerly Facebook and Instagram) in federal courts. Another antitrust case against Google is set to begin in September, focusing on its advertising business.
Google's search engine is crucial to the company's massive advertising business. Last year, the company generated over $175 billion in ad revenue from its search engine, accounting for 57% of its global business.
Google and other internet giants are also facing increased pressure in the EU. Under the Digital Markets Act (DMA) that came into effect in March, the Commission in Brussels aims to curb the market power of so-called gatekeepers of the internet. For instance, Google will no longer be allowed to favor its own applications like Google Maps in displaying search results.
The United States Department of Justice, under President Joe Biden, has deemed Google's actions as unlawful, as they pertain to The Presidency's ongoing antitrust lawsuit against the tech giant. This ruling against Google implies that even a monopolist like Google is accountable to the law, as stated by Attorney General Merrick Garland.
In response to the ruling, Google has announced its intention to appeal, indicating that they believe their pre-installation deals with companies like Apple, on which they spent around $26 billion last year, have not violated any regulations.
