New Delhi: A US federal court has ruled that Google monopolized the online search and general search advertising industries, which violated antitrust rules in the United States.
In 2020, the DOJ sued Google for allegedly monopolizing digital search, excluding competitors such as DuckDuckGo and Microsoft Bing. It was the first significant antitrust lawsuit in the technology industry since U.S. v. Microsoft, a 1998 case in which Microsoft was found to have monopolized computer operating systems.
“Google’s dominance has gone unchallenged for well over a decade,” Judge Amit Mehta wrote in his 277-page verdict. “Google is a monopolist, and it has acted accordingly to retain its monopoly.” It violated Section 2 of the Sherman Act.”
Mehta argued that Google’s exclusive relationships with Apple have allowed it to raise advertising costs without negative consequences, resulting in revenue growth and huge profitability. The judge noted that nearly 90% of all search queries went through Google in 2020.
The Google lawsuit has been compared to the U.S. v. Microsoft case, which claimed Microsoft dominated over 90% of the computer operating system industry.
US regulators have intensified antitrust scrutiny of Big Tech, filing lawsuits against Amazon, Apple, Meta, and Google, alleging monopolistic practices in the digital advertising market.
Mehta’s verdict has huge implications for Google and consumers worldwide.
To comply with antitrust restrictions, Google may need to make significant changes to its search engine business, potentially opening the door for competitors like OpenAI’s new search engine.
