A judge on Monday ruled that Google’s ubiquitous search engine has been illegally exploiting its dominance to squash competition and stifle innovation in a seismic decision that could shake up the internet and hobble one of the world’s best-known companies.
The highly anticipated decision issued by U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta comes nearly a year after the start of a trial pitting the U.S. Justice Department against Google in the country’s biggest antitrust showdown in a quarter century.
After reviewing reams of evidence that included testimony from top executives at Google, Microsoft and Apple during last year’s 10-week trial, Mehta issued his potentially market-shifting decision three months after the two sides presented their closing arguments in early May.
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America’s Newspapers, the leading association of news publishers in the United States, applauds the recent verdict finding Google in violation of antitrust laws. This landmark decision marks a crucial step toward fostering fair competition in the digital advertising market and protecting the future of local journalism. This verdict confirms what our members have long experienced: Google’s monopolistic practices have harmed local news organizations, have significantly impacted local newspaper revenues, and have limited local publishers’ innovation in the digital advertising space. By leveraging its dominant position in search and digital advertising, Google has unfairly disadvantaged news publishers, limiting their ability to monetize content and reach audiences effectively.
