Google’s spot as the top search dog is under threat from the courts and AI-driven rivals. But let’s not forget how US vs Microsoft played out
In a landmark decision, Judge Amit Mehta of the US District Court ruled Google violated the Sherman Antitrust Act by stifling competition and arranging exclusive and restrictive contracts with other companies. As Mehta wrote in his decision, „Google is a monopolist, and it has acted as one to maintain its monopoly.“ Well, that’s plain enough.
Mehta found Google engaged in practices that prevented its rivals from competing fairly. He’s got a point. By StatCounter’s reckoning, Google owns the lion’s share of the search market with 91%, followed by Bing with a paltry 3.86%. DuckDuckGo? It’s trailing with a meager 0.62%.
Google, of course, denied that this was why its search engine was their pick. Google Global Affairs President Kent Walker replied, „This decision recognizes that Google offers the best search engine but concludes that we shouldn’t be allowed to make it easily available.“ Them’s fightin‘ words!
What will this mean for users? In the short run, nothing. Google has already announced that it will appeal the decision.
What will it mean in the long run? Well, we’ll see. Before this, the only technology lawsuit of this scale was the Microsoft antitrust lawsuit, US versus Microsoft. In theory, Microsoft lost that case. In practice, Netscape died, and for over a decade, Internet Explorer was the browser of choice. For all practical purposes, Microsoft was the winner.
In addition, the court has yet to propose any specific remedies to put Google in its place. For example, the court might force Google to break up its business operations, restrict its ability to enter into exclusive agreements, or make users decide when they first use a browser whether they want Google or another search engine.
