Google has violated the US antitrust law in regard to its search business. A federal judge ruled today, thus dealing a massive blow on the tech giant and reshaping how millions of Americans access information online and nearly half a century of market dominance.
CNN notes that the ruling by the US District Court for the District of Columbia is an astonishing condemnation of Google’s oldest and principal segment. This company has made tens of billions investments in exclusive agreements to maintain itself as the default search engine for smartphones and web browsers across the world.
In their historic antitrust suit against Google launched during Trump administration, US Government alleged that due to these contracts, potential competitors such as Microsoft’s Bing or DuckDuckGo were overshadowed by Google. US District Judge Amit Mehta concluded that this mighty market standing resulted into anticompetitive conduct which ought to be restrained.
This judgment is crucial turning point in a protracted struggle between regulators and big tech firms over control of markets and fair competition.
“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,” Mehta wrote in Monday’s opinion. “It has violated Section 2 of the Sherman Act.”
