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A federal judge ruled Monday that Alphabet — the parent company of tech giant Google — broke federal antitrust laws after it bolstered its dominant position over Internet search and related advertising.
US District Judge Amit Mehta’s decision in the District of Columbia opens the door for a second trial to determine possible remedies for Google’s monopolization of the search market. This marks the Justice Department’s first victory against a monopoly in more than 20 years.
The Department of Justice sued Google for its control of roughly 90% of the Internet search market — an amount that rises to 95% on smartphones. Judge Mehta noted that Google paid $26.3 billion in 2021 alone to ensure that its search engine remained the default option on web browsers and smartphones to maintain its dominant market share.
“The court reaches the following conclusion: Google is a monopolist and has acted as one to maintain its monopoly,” Mehta wrote.
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The federal court ruling could force changes in Google’s business practices. (REUTERS/Steve Marcus/File Photo/File Photo/Reuters Photos)
Mehta’s decision paves the way for a second trial to determine possible remedies for Google’s monopoly, such as requiring the company to stop paying billions of dollars a year to smartphone makers to keep its search engine as the default option. .
“Default is extremely valuable real estate. . . . Even if a new entrant were positioned from a qualitative standpoint to bid for default when a deal expires, such a firm could compete only if it were willing to pay partners over billions of dollars in revenue, share and make up for any shortfall in revenue resulting from the change,” Mehta wrote.
“Google, of course, acknowledges that losing defaults would dramatically affect its bottom line. For example, Google has predicted that losing Safari by default would result in a significant drop in queries and billions of dollars in revenue lost,” he added.
| TICKER | Safety | The last | AmENdmENT | Change % |
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| ALPHABET INC. | 159.25 | -7.41 |
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Google pays billions of dollars a year to maintain its search functionality as the default option on web browsers and smartphones. (Photo by Thilina Kaluthotage/NurPhoto via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Google President of Global Affairs Kent Walker said in a statement provided to FOX Business: “This decision recognizes that Google offers the best search engine, but concludes that we should not be allowed to make it readily available. We appreciate the Court’s finding that Google isthe highest quality search engine in the industry, which has earned Google the trust of hundreds of millions of daily users.Google it “has long been the best search engine, especially on mobile devices,” “has continued to innovate in search,” and that “Apple and Mozilla occasionally rate the quality of Google’s search against its rivals and see Google as superior”.
“Given that, and that people are increasingly looking for information in more ways, we plan to appeal,” Walker added. “As this process continues, we will remain focused on making products that people find useful. useful and easy to use.”
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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The Department of Justice filed suit against Google’s alleged search monopoly in 2020. (Samuel Corum/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Getty Images)
The ruling is the first major court ruling against Big Tech firms in a series of cases alleging that those companies allegedly engaged in monopolistic business practices.
In the past four years, federal antitrust regulators have also filed lawsuits against Meta — the parent of Facebook and Instagram — as well as Amazon and Apple over allegations that Big Tech companies illegally held monopolies. Another case against Google over its ad technology is scheduled to go to trial in September.
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When the Google search case was filed in 2020, it marked the first time in a generation that the federal government charged a large corporation with maintaining an illegal monopoly.
Microsoft settled the Justice Department lawsuit, which accused the company of forcing its Internet Explorer web browser on Windows users, in 2004.
Reuters contributed to this report.