Google suffered a lawful defeat against the US Department of Justice (DOJ) on Monday. The federal judge, Amit Mehta, remarked that the tech giant has established an illegal monopoly over online search and advertising procedures.
Mehta further stated that the company has violated antitrust regulations by initiating exclusive agreements with device manufacturers like Apple and Samsung. The statements are anticipated to influence the operations of Google remarkably.
Google’s agreement with device manufacturers ensured that its search engine was the default setting on the devices. Reports state that these collaborations helped the tech giant to build a monopoly, costing over $26 billion in 2021 alone to unjustly dominate the search market and stifle competition.
Though there was no immediate penalty announced, the next sessions shall determine the suitable resolutions to the situation. As a result, Google might be asked to modify its business agreements, prohibiting the default search engine deals.
Google Might be asked to Change Search:
The case of Google against the US DOJ for unfair monopoly has not come to any settlement till now. Judge Amit Mehta is about to announce a separate trial for the same where the government shall determine remedies to enforce against the company. However, no specific dates for the session have been announced yet.
The remedies can greatly impact multiple components at a time, breaking the company entirely. As per the assumptions, the court can give a statement regarding the search contracts that Google has signed with device makers, totally restricting the company from having further agreements.
However, Google can still be the default search engine for devices of manufacturers if the latter choose to do it without any payments. Apple and Samsung have not responded to the situation openly. On the other hand, Mozilla, with an 86% revenue of $510 million generated from the Firefox browser by using Google search as default, has passed its comments on reviewing the court decision. The outcome of Google vs US DOJ can be troublesome for other tech pioneers as well, impacting their monopolistic agreements.
Google’s Appeal and Defense:
Google has expressed its intention to appeal against the ruling, which could delay any immediate changes. The company argues that its market dominance originates from the superior quality of its products.
Kent Walker, Google’s President of Global Affairs, highlighted that while the court’s decision recognizes the excellence of Google’s search engine, it unfairly limits its availability. “This decision recognizes Google offers the best search engine but concludes that we shouldn’t be allowed to make it easily available,” Walker adds. Nevertheless, he did not provide a specific timeline to make an appeal or any other information on Google’s response to the allegations.
In a similar situation, in the early 2000s, Microsoft fought an antitrust case against the US Department of Justice. Despite initial rulings against it, Microsoft successfully appealed and mitigated many of the imposed sanctions. Google might similarly manage to reduce the ruling’s impact through legal appeals. Nevertheless, nothing can be assumed until a final settlement is reached, which took two years in Microsoft’s case.
Google Prepares for Another Lawsuit:
While dealing with the search engine antitrust case, Google faces another lawsuit by the US Department of Justice targeting its digital advertising practices. The allegations claim Google has monopolized online advertising, coercing companies into using its technology and suppressing competition. This case, set for trial in September, could further threaten Google’s revenue model, which heavily relies on its advertising division.