A federal judge has ruled that Google holds a monopoly on general search engine services, siding with the Justice Department and several states that sued the tech giant for alleged antitrust violations.
US District Judge Amit Mehta of the District of Columbia delivered the ruling on Monday, concluding that Google has indeed violated antitrust laws to become the default search engine on cell phones and web browsers. Google has defended its practices as standard business operations.
“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,” Judge Mehta stated in the 276-page decision.
“Specifically, the court holds that (1) there are relevant product markets for general search services and general search text ads; (2) Google has monopoly power in those markets; (3) Google’s distribution agreements are exclusive and have anticompetitive effects; and (4) Google has not offered valid procompetitive justifications for those agreements,” Mehta wrote.
Mehta argued that Google’s distribution agreements disincentivized potential competition from other companies, thereby maintaining its monopoly. Additionally, the judge found that Google exercised its monopoly power by charging supra-competitive prices for general search text ads.
However, Mehta clarified that Google does not hold a monopoly in the market for search advertising. The Wall Street Journal reported that the judge will now have to implement an order to address the monopoly.
Google is expected to appeal the decision. Kent Walker, President of Global Affairs at Alphabet, criticized the ruling as a punishment for the company’s success.
“This decision recognizes that Google offers the best search engine, but concludes that we shouldn’t be allowed to make it easily available,” Walker said. “As this process continues, we will remain focused on making products that people find helpful and easy to use.”
Attorney General Merrick Garland applauded the decision saying it was a victory and a “historic win” for the American people.
“No company — no matter how large or influential — is above the law,” Garland said.
