Google illegally dominated online search, US judge rules

Google illegally dictated online search by paying billions of dollars to rivals to default to its search engine, a federal court has ruled.

Judge Amit Mehta found that Google violated section 2 of the Sherman Act, a US antitrust law.

“After having carefully considered and weighed the witness testimony and evidence, the court reaches the following conclusion: Google is a monopolist, and it has acted as one to maintain its monopoly,” he said.

The Department of Justice and a number of US states brought the case against Google in 2020.

It presented that Google paid companies such as Apple and Samsung billions of dollars a year to automatically default to its search engine.

Apple received $18billion, according to The New York Times.

Plus, Samsung received $8billion over four years to make its search engine, voice assistant and Play Store the default on its mobile devices, according to a testimony presented by Epic Games Inc.

Google’s fate will be finalised in the next phase of proceedings, which may mean a mandate to stop certain business practices or even a breakup of Google parent Alphabet.

Nevertheless, Google plans to appeal the ruling. Kent Walker, president of global affairs pointed to the ruling’s acknowledgement that Google “offers the best search engine,” yet it “concludes that we shouldn’t be allowed to make it easily available.”

“As this process continues, we will remain focused on making products that people find helpful and easy to use,” he said.

“This landmark decision holds Google accountable,” DOJ antitrust chief Jonathan said in a statement. “It paves the path for innovation for generations to come and protects access to information for all Americans.”

It’s the latest blow to Google after a federal jury in California found that its app marketplace is an illegal monopoly.

Plus, it faces a separate case from the DOJ and a handful of states accusing its online advertising business of dominating the market, too.