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Tech Giant Google has dominated search engine technology since its founding in 1998. But a federal judge just ruled that the company acted illegally to maintain its dominance of the search engine industry.
“Google is a monopolist, and it has acted as one to maintain its monopoly,” Judge Amit P. Mehta of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia said in a 277-page ruling.
The consequences of this ruling are far-reaching. Big Tech has never been slapped down like this before. Suits against Google, Apple, Amazon, Facebook owner Meta, Instagram, and WhatsApp now have a road map to follow and could, in several cases, be successful.
The outcome will likely change the way we do business and communicate online.
“This is the most important antitrust case of the century, and it’s the first of a big slate of cases to come down against Big Tech,” said Rebecca Haw Allensworth, a professor at Vanderbilt University’s law school who studies antitrust. “It’s a huge turning point.”
Judge Mehta did not offer any remedies for Google’s illegal activities. Potentially, Google would be forced to sell off part of its business. Or the court could force Google to alter the way it does business. A prime target there is Google’s deals with Apple and other companies that automatically handle search queries on their smartphones and web browsers.
