2024-08-06 09:23:40
US Department of Justice 2020 sued Google for an illegal monopoly, claiming that its dominant position harmed consumers.
In Monday’s ruling, Justice Amit Mehta said Google has dominated the market for well over a decade without any competition.
“Google is a monopolist and acts as such to maintain that monopoly,” A. Mehta wrote in the ruling.
Google had “a big, largely invisible advantage over its competitors — default distribution,” Mehta said, referring to Google being the default search engine on devices.
“Importantly, the court found that Google used its monopoly by setting completely non-competitive prices for generic text advertising. This behavior allowed Google to profit from its monopoly.”
Google said it plans to appeal Mehta’s ruling.
Owned by parent company Alphabet, Google is the main search engine in the United States, accounting for more than three-quarters of all searches, and is even more dominant on mobile devices.
US Attorney General Merrick Garland called the ruling a “historic victory for the American people.”
“No company, no matter how big or powerful, is above the law. The Department of Justice will continue to vigorously enforce our antitrust laws.”
“This ruling recognizes that Google’s search engine is the best, but concludes that it should not be easily accessible,” Kent Walker, head of global affairs at Google, said in a brief press release, adding that the tech giant intends to appeal the ruling. .
2024-08-06 09:23:40