Google is a monopoly, US federal court rules

Google is operating an illegal monopoly over the web search industry, according to a Monday ruling by judge Amit P. Mehta of the US District Court for the District of Columbia. The decision, reported by the New York Times, puts an end to a years-long case brought by the Department of Justice and state governments, accusing it of skewing the market through unfair practices. A particular focus was Google’s practice of paying companies like Apple, Mozilla, and Samsung to make its search tool the default in web browsers — making it tough for competitors like DuckDuckGo or Bing to gain traction.

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The case dates back to 2020, and peaked with a 10-week trial in 2023, including testimonies by Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Nadella complained that Google’s relationship with Apple is “oligopolistic,” and that Google could easily become dominant in the world of AI with Gemini, even though Microsoft has enjoyed a lead thanks to its partnership with ChatGPT creator OpenAI. Google reportedly paid Apple $18 billion in 2021 alone to remain the default search option in Safari — making sure iPhone users were exposed to Google ads and other services.

Google’s defense was that it’s succeeding because its technology is better. Prosecutors, however, contended that Google is denying its competitors the ability to scale up, while simultaneously gathering the consumer data needed to strengthen its position. They further accused the company of artificially hiking ad rates beyond those that would exist in a free market. Indeed, Google is the dominant player in online advertising — the firm makes most of its revenue that way rather than through devices, subscriptions, or cloud servers.

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What happens next?

Google will most likely appeal

The next phase involves Mehta deciding on a penalty, which could include changes to business practices or even selling off divisions. Google, meanwhile, will most likely appeal the ruling to the US Supreme Court, where its fate is uncertain given a conservative super-majority. Traditionally, US conservatives have pushed for a deregulated market. In recent years though some conservatives have complained that Google has a liberal bias and unfair control over public discourse, in which case upholding the ruling might be a way of striking back.

For now at least the District Court ruling can be used as precedent in other antitrust cases brought by the US government. The most prominent of these is the case against Apple, accusing the tech giant of unfairly controlling what apps and connected accessories can do on its platforms.