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The first major victory for federal authorities challenging Big Tech’s market dominance came on Monday when a U.S. judge determined that Google broke antitrust laws by spending billions of dollars to establish an illegal monopoly and become the default search engine worldwide.
The decision opens the door to a second trial to figure out possible remedies, which would involve splitting up Google parent company Alphabet which would alter the web advertising ecosystem that Google has dominated for a long time.
It is also a green signal to aggressive U.S. antitrust authorities prosecuting Big Tech, a sector that has been under assault from across the political spectrum.
The court has concluded that Google is a monopolist and has behaved in a monopolistic manner to preserve its monopoly, according to U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta of the Washington, D.C., court. Nearly 90% of all web searches and 95% of all smartphone searches are controlled by Google.
A protracted “remedy” process may follow, with possible appeals to the DC Circuit, the US Court of Appeals, and ultimately the US Supreme Court. The legal dispute may drag on until next year or possibly 2026.
On Monday, the stock market as a whole crashed on worries of a recession, sending tech stocks down and Alphabet stock down 4.5%. Advertisements on Google accounted for 77% of Alphabet’s revenue in 2023.
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