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Let's say that you had not been following every development of Google's antitrust case in Washington, DC. Yesterday, the court published its verdict. Here's what you need to know.
"Google is a monopolist, and it has acted as one to maintain its monopoly. It has violated Section 2 of the Sherman Act."
The full finding of the court available for download here:
The Verdict
- Monopolist Status: The court officially declared Google a monopolist in the general search services market and the search text advertising market.
- Exclusive Deals: Google's use of exclusive distribution agreements to be the default search engine on most devices and browsers was central to this ruling.
Key Findings
- Market Control: Google controls nearly 90% of the general search market, a dominance it has held for over a decade.
- Anticompetitive Behavior: The court found that Google's exclusive agreements with device manufacturers and browsers, like its deal with Apple’s Safari, unfairly stifled competition.
- Financial Influence: In 2021, Google paid over $26 billion to secure its default search engine status on various platforms, reaping $146 billion in advertising revenue that year.
