Google's monopoly makes it face international sanctions
The US tech giant faces potential penalties after a US judge ruled that Google had acted illegally to crush competition and Google's monopoly on online search and related advertising, Monday's historic court decision is a major blow to Google's parent company and could reshape the way tech giants operate.
Google monopoly: Attorney General accuses Google of monopolizing the market
In 2020, the US Department of Justice sued Google for controlling about 90% of the Internet search market (Google monopoly), one of several lawsuits filed against major tech companies as US antitrust authorities seek to boost competition in the industry.
This case has sometimes been described as an existential threat to Google and its owner Alphabet given Google's monopoly on online search and advertising, it is not yet clear what sanctions Google and Alphabet will face as a result of this decision, as fines or other penalties will be determined At a future hearing, the government has demanded "structural reforms" — which in theory could at least mean breaking up the company.
Google's monopoly: Google pays billions to ensure it is the default search engine
In his decision, U.S. District Judge Amit Meta said Google paid billions to ensure it was the default search engine on smartphones and browsers, and Judge Meta wrote in his 277-page opinion:
"Google is a monopoly company, and it acted as one of them to maintain its monopoly."
Alphabet has stated that it plans to appeal against the verdict. The company's statement read:
"This decision acknowledges that Google offers the best search engine, but concludes that we should not be allowed to provide it easily."
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, the nation's top prosecutor, welcomed the verdict as a "historic victory for the American people," Mr. Garland said in a statement Monday, "No company — no matter how big or influential it is — is above the law," adding, "The Justice Department will continue to aggressively enforce our antitrust laws."
Google's monopoly of the market for fear of competitors
Federal antitrust regulators have filed other pending lawsuits against big tech companies — including Meta Platforms that owns Facebook, Amazon.com and Apple Inc — accusing them of illegally monopolizing the market, Monday's verdict comes after a 10-week trial in Washington, D.C., where prosecutors accused Google of spending billions of dollars a year on companies like Apple, Samsung, Mozilla and others to be pre-installed as the default search engine across different platforms.
The US said Google typically pays more than $10 billion (£7.8 billion) a year for Google's monopoly on the market, ensuring it has access to a steady stream of user data that has helped maintain its market dominance.
Prosecutors said this meant that other companies did not have the opportunity or resources to compete meaningfully, and Justice Department lawyer Kenneth Dentzer claimed during the trial:
"The best testament to this, on the importance of default settings, is the Google checkbook."