A landmark ruling made by a US federal judge confirmed that Google had unlawfully used its monopoly in online search by spending billions on exclusive deals, marking a significant victory for the US department of justice (DoJ) in their mission to lessen the market dominance of Big Tech.
Judge Amit Mehta, who oversaw the case in the District of Columbia, categorised Google as a “monopolist” in his 286-page verdict on Monday, affirming that the tech giant had breached US antitrust regulations.
The judgement comes after a protracted trial during which the DoJ argued that Google had allocated tens of billions to maintain uncompetitive agreements with browser developers, device manufacturers and wireless carriers. The payments surpassed $26 billion (£19 billion) in 2021, based on the verdict.
Despite Google being a synonym for online search, the company contended that it encountered stiff competition in the market and credited its success to the quality of its products.
The ruling can be appealed against the 2020 lawsuit filed by the DoJ in partnership with 52 US states and territories. As of now, there has been no response to requests for comment from Google or the DoJ.
The case now advances to the next phase in which the court will decide what corrective measures Google will need to implement. It is unclear what penalties the DoJ will propose, but it might focus on restricting Google’s capacity to initiate deals similar to those under dispute in the case.
For US antitrust authorities, this decision represents the most significant triumph against Big Tech in many years.
There has been a slew of prominent cases recently, targeting Big Tech’s power – the US DoJ has lodged a lawsuit against Apple and has another pending against Google, accusing the company of allegedly monopolising the digital advertising market. The second trial against Google is scheduled to start next month.
Lawsuits have also been filed by the US Federal Trade Commission against Amazon and Meta.
Google’s longstanding agreement with Apple to be the default search engine on the iPhone has regularly come under scrutiny. Previously confidential court papers revealed that in 2022, Google paid Apple $20 billion, a significant part of Apple’s annual $85 billion services business which encompasses its App Store and Apple Pay. Apple, who is not involved in the case, failed to immediately respond to requests for a comment.
The matter at hand in the lawsuit included deals the technology behemoth had penned over time with Mozilla, a web browser developer, and Android mobile manufacturers such as Samsung, Motorola, and Sony, along with network providers like AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile. The judge stated in his verdict that Google’s distribution agreements effectively blocked a sizeable part of the general search services market and hindered the competitive chances of its rivals.
However, there was one triumph for Google, as the Judge determined that the claims of its monopoly power in the search advertising market were unfounded. Furthermore, the judge criticised Google for its extreme efforts to prevent a paper trail for regulators and legal parties, yet decided against punishing the corporation for such actions, deeming it unnecessary to declare Google culpable. The magistrate specified that his ruling should not be perceived as an approval of Google’s lack of preservation of chat evidence.”
Alphabet, Google’s parent company saw its stock plunge by over 4% on Monday, reflecting an overall decline in US markets. – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2024.