US District Court Judge Amit P. Mehta on Monday ruled that Google abused its monopoly power over the search business by in part, paying companies like Apple to present its search engine as the default choice on their devices and web browsers.
A coalition of states and the US Justice Department filed the antitrust lawsuit against Google in 2020, which kicked off in court in September 2023.
Google reportedly pays companies, including Apple, Samsung and Mozilla, billions of dollars for prime placement in web browsers and on smartphones. In 2021 alone, Google spent $26 billion to be the default search engine across Apple and Android platforms. About $18 billion of that spend went to Apple alone. Google shares 36% of search ad revenue from Safari with Apple.
Section 2 of the US Sherman Act makes it illegal for any person or business to monopolize, attempt to monopolize or conspire to monopolize any part of trade or commerce.
In the ruling Monday, Mehta wrote: “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. It has violated Section 2 of the Sherman Act.”
The outcome of the case is a significant win for the Justice Department, and a major defeat for Google that could alter the way it does business and even change the structure of the internet, should the decision stand.
Google’s president of Global Affairs Kent Walker reportedly said, the company plans to appeal the decision. He argues the company has used its dominant position to benefit consumers and advertisers alike.
