Google Has Illegal Search Monopoly, Judge Rules
A US judge has ruled that Google has maintained an illegal monopoly over online search services and related advertising — a decision that could shake up the internet.
The ruling issued by US District Judge Amit Mehta comes nearly a year after the start of a trial that pit the US Justice Department against Google.
"Google is a monopolist, and it has acted as one to maintain its monopoly," Mehta wrote in his 277-page ruling. He said Google's dominance in the search market is evidence of its monopoly.
Google "enjoys an 89.2% share of the market for general search services, which increases to 94.9% on mobile devices," the ruling said.
It represents a major setback for Google and its parent, Alphabet Inc., which had argued that its popularity stemmed from consumers' desire to use a search engine so good at what it does that it has become synonymous with looking things up online.
Attorney General Merrick Garland called the ruling a "historic win for the American people" and said, "No company — no matter how large or influential — is above the law. The Justice Department will continue to vigorously enforce our antitrust laws."
However, Kent Walker, Google's president of global affairs, said the company will appeal Mehta's findings.
"This decision recognizes that Google offers the best search engine, but concludes that we shouldn't be allowed to make it easily available," Walker said.
Mehta's ruling focused on the billions of dollars Google spends every year to install its search engine as the default option on new cellphones and tech gadgets. In 2021 alone, Google spent more than $26 billion on those default agreements, Mehta said in his ruling.
Still, Mehta agreed that the quality of Google's product is an important part of its dominance, as well, saying that "Google is widely recognized as the best [general search engine] available in the United States."
Mehta's conclusion that Google has been running an illegal monopoly sets up another legal phase to determine what sorts of changes or penalties should be imposed to restore a more competitive landscape. He scheduled a September 6 hearing to begin setting the stage for the next phase.
