Judge Rules Google’s Search Operates as Illegal Monopoly
Judge Mehta's ruling comes nearly a year after the start of a high-profile antitrust trial between the US Justice Department and Google.
A US District Judge Amit Mehta ruled that Google’s dominance in the internet search market constitutes an illegal monopoly.[1]
Judge Mehta's ruling comes nearly a year after the start of a high-profile antitrust trial between the US Justice Department and Google. The ruling follows a detailed examination of evidence, including testimony from top executives at Google, Microsoft, and Apple during the 10-week trial.
In his 277-page decision, Mehta concluded that Google is a monopolist and has acted to maintain its monopoly, citing its 89.2% share of the general search market, which rises to 94.9% on mobile devices. The decision represents a major setback for Google and its parent company, Alphabet Inc., which has argued that its search engine's popularity is due to its superior quality and consumer preference.
Kent Walker, Google's president of global affairs, announced plans to appeal the ruling, asserting that the decision acknowledges Google's search engine quality while questioning its availability.
The ruling supports the Justice Department’s antitrust efforts, which began nearly four years ago and have continued under the Biden administration.
The case depicted Google as a monopolistic force that hinders competition by spending billions to secure default search engine agreements. In 2021 alone, Google spent over $26 billion on such agreements. Judge Mehta highlighted the role of default settings in maintaining Google’s market share, noting that alternative search engines, like Microsoft’s Bing, can be successful when not overshadowed by Google.
Mehta also acknowledged Google's search engine quality but emphasized the importance of competitive practices. The ruling will now move to a new phase to determine appropriate remedies and penalties. A hearing to discuss these measures is scheduled for September 6th.
