US District Court Judge Amit P. Mehta held that Google LLC violated section 2 of the Sherman Antitrust Act by maintaining an illegal monopoly over internet search and search advertising markets on Monday.
The ruling marks a significant victory for the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and State Attorneys General who have been challenging Google’s dominance for several years, with Mehta also concluding that Google engaged in unlawful practices to preserve its monopoly in the online search sector.
Section 2 of the Sherman Antitrust Act prohibits monopolization or attempts to monopolize and targets unfair practices to achieve monopoly power. Google was accused of employing an unfair strategy to stifle competition by paying billions of dollars to companies like Apple and Samsung to allow its search engine to be the default option on their devices and browsers. The ruling also found that Google’s monopoly enabled the undertaking to inflate prices for search ads, increasing its revenue to further entrench its dominant position.
Mehta stated in the ruling that “[a]fter 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.” Attorney General Merrick B. Garland responded to the judgment in a press release referring to a “historic win for the American people.” He went on to emphasize “No company — no matter how large or influential — is above the law. The Justice Department will continue to vigorously enforce our antitrust laws.”
Google has announced plans to appeal the decision with the company’s president of global affairs, Kent Walker, highlighting parts of the judgment that acknowledged the company’s main argument during the proceedings, namely that its search engine was of superior quality over other competitors. Additionally, Google has contended that its search contracts with competitors were non-exclusionary in nature and thus should not incur liability. Mehta rejected this argument noting that search contracts would disincentivize phone manufacturers and developers of operating systems from working on their own search engines.
The decision comes in the wake of the DOJ filing a federal antitrust complaint in January 2023. The DOJ had filed similar civil antitrust complaints in 2020 and in April 2022, with Google facing another class action lawsuit over its Google Maps monopoly and acquisition of Waze. An additional federal trial is set to commence in Virginia later this year regarding the DOJ’s claims that Google’s advertising technology constitutes an illegal monopoly.
