On Monday, U.S. authorities charged tech giant Google with illegal practices to maintain its monopoly in online search. In a landmark decision by a federal judge in the District of Columbia, the court found that by paying billions to be the default search engine on consumer devices, Google stifled competition from its rivals, according to local reports.
Judge Amit P. Mehta’s ruling marks the first significant antitrust decision in the modern internet era against a major tech corporation. This decision follows a lawsuit filed by the Department of Justice accusing Google of unlawfully strengthening its dominance, partly by paying companies like Apple and Samsung billions annually to ensure Google remained the default search engine on their smartphones and web browsers.
While the ruling does not impose a fine on Google, it could have far-reaching implications for other government antitrust actions, not only against Google but also against other tech giants such as Apple, Amazon, and Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
Additionally, the government has accused Google of maintaining its monopoly on ads displayed in search results, a lucrative segment generating billions in annual revenue for the tech company.
