August 8, 2024
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA – About four years after the Department Of Justice (DOJ) filed its antitrust case against Google, Judge Amit P. Mehta of U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia made a ruling that could influence tech competition for years to come. According to the New York Times, Mehta’s ruling found that Google had violated antitrust laws by stifling rivals in internet search to protect its monopoly.
“Google’s loss could have major ripple effects,” writes Steve Lohr for the Times. “U.S. regulators have also accused Apple, Amazon and Meta of violating antitrust laws by advantaging their own products on the platforms they run and acquiring smaller rivals. The Google ruling, and potential remedies to be decided by Mehta, are likely to weigh heavily on those cases, including a second lawsuit against Google over ad technology, which is scheduled to go to trial next month.”
Lohr makes the apt comparison to Microsoft in the 1990s, writing that, “Microsoft was the ruling digital platform, with its Windows software controlling the experience of users on more than 90% of personal computers. Today, Google has a comparable grip on internet search.”
In the Google case, as in Microsoft’s, the court found that contracts illegally excluded rivals. “But Google’s were more carrot than stick, offering industry partners generous payments rather than threats,” Lohr adds. “Google paid smartphone companies and browser makers more than $26 billion in 2021, according to court testimony, to set its software to automatically handle all search queries.”
Recent Comments