The new court order is expected to lead to a separate process to determine the sanctions to be imposed on the company
Google has violated US antitrust laws, according to a US federal court ruling that found the high-tech company has built an “internet search empire”.
The ruling hands the tech giant a major legal defeat , paving the way to reshape how millions of Americans get information online and overturning decades of dominance.
According to Judge Amit Mehta, Google violated Section 2 of the Sherman Act, the US antitrust law, by monopolizing search and advertising services.
“After carefully considering the testimony and evidence of witnesses , the court concluded: Google is a monopoly and acted in a way that allowed it to maintain its monopoly.”
The decision by the US District Court for the District of Columbia affects the most important and oldest of Google's business operations. The company has spent tens of billions of dollars on exclusive contracts to secure a dominant position as the world's default search provider on smartphones and Internet browsers.
Those contracts gave it the power to shut out would-be competitors like Microsoft's Bing and DuckDuckGo, the US government noted in a landmark antitrust lawsuit filed during the Trump presidency.
Google Violated Antitrust Laws in Online Search, Judge Rules. Just a trial court ruling, but wow!
Credits: Joseph Jerome. See https://t.co/AnlGEOdsuD pic.twitter.com/eAByVMNMhm
— Luis Montezuma | @[email protected] (@montezumachavez) August 5, 2024
According to Judge Meta, this dominance has led to a strategy that “must stop”. In particular, Google's exclusive deals with Apple and other major players in the mobile ecosystem hurt competition, Meta said. Google still charges high fees for search advertising, reflecting its monopoly power, the court added.
The decision marks the second legal defeat for Google. A federal court in California ruled in December that Google maintains an illegal monopoly with its proprietary app store.
US Attorney General Merrick Garland called the ruling “a historic victory for the American people” in a statement. “, stressing that “no company is above the law”.
Potential Sanctions
The new court ruling is expected to lead to a separate process to determine the penalties that will be imposed on the company. Google is likely to appeal.
The ruling could ultimately upend how Google markets its search engine to users and affect its ability to strike deals with device makers and Internet service providers.
The “file” against Google is part of a broader effort by US authorities, as well as European regulators, to bring compliance by large companies accused of monopolizing the Internet.< /p>
Source: The Guardian, CNN
