Judge rules Google has illegal monopoly in Internet search

Google has violated the US antitrust law by maintaining a monopoly in the online search market, a federal judge from the US District Court for the District of Columbia ruled on Monday.

Judge Amit Mehta agreed with the US Department of Justice that Google has a monopoly in "general search services" and "the general search text ads market."

"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," according to the court's ruling. "It has violated Section 2 of the Sherman Act."

Google controls about 90 percent of the online search market and 95 percent on smartphones, said the ruling, capping a yearslong case.

The DOJ reportedly sued in 2020 over Google's dominance in online search, which was the first time in a generation that the US government accused a major corporation of an illegal monopoly.

"This landmark decision holds Google accountable," DOJ antitrust Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter said in a statement. "It paves the path for innovation for generations to come and protects access to information for all Americans."

Kent Walker, Google's president of Global Affairs, said the company intends to appeal Mehta's ruling.

"This decision recognizes that Google offers the best search engine, but concludes that we shouldn't be allowed to make it easily available," he said in a statement. "As this process continues, we will remain focused on making products that people find helpful and easy to use."

Google's fate will be decided in the next phase of proceedings, which could determine potential fixes possibly including a breakup of Google's parent Alphabet, according to media reports.

The next separate antitrust trial between the DOJ and Google is set to begin on September 9 in Virginia. That case will focus on whether Google has illegally monopolized advertising technology.

Amazon, Apple, and Meta now all face monopolization lawsuits from the US government.