Google has violated U.S. antitrust law with its search business, a federal judge ruled Monday, handing the tech giant a staggering court defeat with the potential to reshape how millions of Americans get information online and to upend decades of dominance.
“After 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,” U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta Mehta wrote in Monday’s opinion. “It has violated Section 2 of the Sherman Act.”
The decision by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia is a stunning rebuke of Google’s oldest and most important business. The company has spent tens of billions of dollars on exclusive contracts to secure a dominant position as the world’s default search provider on smartphones and web browsers.
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.
