Google is an illegal monopoly, federal court rules — from washingtonpost.com by Eva Dou and Gerrit De Vynck
Judgment delivers a victory to the Justice Department as it takes on a string of federal antitrust lawsuits against Big Tech.
A federal court has found that Google illegally abused its market power to quash competition in internet search, handing the Justice Department a landmark victory against Big Tech.
“Google is a monopolist, and it has acted as one to maintain its monopoly,” Judge Amit P. Mehta wrote in his judgment on Monday.
Mehta wrote that Google, a unit of Alphabet Inc., has violated Section 2 of the Sherman Antitrust Act by maintaining its monopoly in two product markets in the United States — general search service and general text advertising — through exclusive distribution agreements with customer companies.
The case has been closely watched in antitrust law circles as the first of a string of cases federal prosecutors have launched against high-tech giants. Antitrust enforcers argue that Big Tech has gotten too powerful and doesn’t serve the public interest. Lawsuits have also been filed against Amazon, Meta and Apple.