Landmark ruling says Google maintained search monopoly illegally

What you need to know

• Google has been embroiled in a case over its power in online search and advertising.
• On Monday, a judge ruled that Google acted illegally to maintain its search monopoly.
• This is just one of many cases the U.S. has filed against Big Tech over their practices, which have been deemed anticompetitive.

A major blow was struck against Google on Monday after a judge ruled that the company illegally maintained a monopoly in search, reports The New York Times. The ruling comes years after the Justice Department and U.S. states sued Google over its search dominance back in 2020. The ruling could have far-reaching consequences for Alphabet and Big Tech.

Judge Amit P. Mehta made the ruling after closing arguments were made in May. According to the ruling, Google has made “shrewd business decisions” to maintain its market dominance, but the problem lies in how it has positioned itself as the default search engine across various products. Mehta has determined that Google has violated section 2 of the Sherman Act, which promotes competition and prohibits “monopolization, attempted monopolization, or conspiracy or combination to monopolize.”

“For years, Google has secured default placements through distribution contracts,” Judge Mehta states in the 289-page ruling obtained by The Verge. It explains how this is achieved through advertising revenue share, which it pays to companies in exchange for making Google Search the default on products like Safari.

“In exchange for revenue share, Google not only received placement at the key search access points, but its partners also agree not to preload any other general search engine on the device. Thus, most devices in the United States come preloaded exclusively with Google.”

Because users generally stick to the default search engine on their devices, this is seen as extremely valuable real estate, forcing competitors to find other avenues to get consumers to use their search engines. To put into perspective, Google had nearly 95% of search market share on mobile phones by 2020, with Microsoft’s Bing making up the rest.

The ruling goes on to note how Google has become synonymous with Search, going largely unchallenged by the competition.

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Derrek is the managing editor of Android Central, helping to guide the site’s editorial content and direction to reach and resonate with readers, old and new, who are just as passionate about tech as we are. He’s been obsessed with mobile technology since he was 12, when he discovered the Nokia N90, and his love of flip phones and new form factors continues to this day. As a fitness enthusiast, he has always been curious about the intersection of tech and fitness. When he’s not working, he’s probably working out.