Google’s ubiquitous search engine illegally exploits its preeminence to crush rivals and put a lid on innovation, a federal judge found on Monday in a ruling that deals a serious blow to the Alphabet-owned platform and delivers a major win for the Justice Department as it looks to strengthen high-tech industry competition.
“This victory against Google is a historic win for the American people,” said Attorney General Merrick Garland. “No company — no matter how large or influential — is above the law. The Justice Department will continue to vigorously enforce our antitrust laws.”
In 2021, Google paid roughly $26 billion to Apple and other partners to ensure its search engine would be the default on internet browsers, stifling competition and ensuring Google’s dominance, Judge Amit Mehta in Washington found.
“After having carefully considered and weighed the witness 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 the widely anticipated ruling.
The decision comes almost a year after the government and Google faced off in court, marking the nation’s biggest antitrust showdown in more than 20 years. Antitrust enforcers had contended Google illegally held a monopoly over online search and related advertising by paying billions over decades to Apple, Samsung and others for the top spot on smartphones and web browsers.
Google plans to appeal the decision, a spokesperson stated.
The company also derided the ruling, saying it “recognizes that Google offers the best search engine, but concludes that we shouldn’t be allowed to make it easily available.”
Google has “continued to innovate in search,” with both Apple and Mozilla finding its search quality superior to rivals, the spokesperson added in an email.
The 10-week trial featured testimony by top executives at Apple, Google and Microsoft and reams of evidence. Mehta’s ruling comes three months after closing arguments were made in early May.
The Justice Department filed its suit against Google almost four years ago during former President Donald Trump’s time in the White House, and its efforts to subdue Big Tech’s power have only escalated under President Joe Biden.
— The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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