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Google breaches the law to maintain the monopoly of internet searches
  • An US federal court has ruled that Google carries out illegal activities on internet searches to maintain its monopoly position.
El Salto @ElSaltoDiario 2024ko abuztuaren 07a

Judge Amit Mehta of the Federal District Court of Columbia (EE.UU. ), he moves on to history by a phrase he has used. It has a lot of trabalenguas, everyone knows it, but it is something that has not been said from a judicial institution against a company as giant as Google. In addition, it is a judgment that can change the direction of things. In the Justice Department's anti-Google trial, Mehta concluded that "Google is monopolistic and works to maintain its monopoly position." In fact, the US Government has shown that the company has illegally used its dominance position as a search engine for the Internet and advertising market.

In the case against the United States and Google, Mehta says that Google "has violated paragraph 2 of the Sherman Law" because "has maintained the monopoly in two U.S. product markets (general services and general text advertising) through its exclusive distribution agreements."

Google paid $20 billion to Apple in 2022 to make its browser the default search engine for Apple customers

The trial sessions have lasted for ten weeks and have already been regarded as a historic process of fighting the monopoly. The Justice Department has argued that Google has used exclusive contracts to prevent users from accessing third-party services. The multinational’s agreements with the Mozilla browser and phone companies like Apple and Samsung have made it a default search engine. Google thus employs 90% of global searches on phones and computers for millions of people around the world.

According to the trial, Google shares with Apple 36% of advertising revenue in the Safari browser search and in 2022 paid $20 billion to the company to ensure that the Google search engine was the default browser for Apple customers. So every year, it pays billions of dollars to maintain its dominance, and Google has used that superiority over advertising space to collect more data about users and improve their search engine, while its rivals have been isolated from that advertising space.

"This victory over Google is historic for the people of the United States. No company is above the law, however large or as influential as it may be," said U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland.

"This victory over Google is a historic victory for the people of the United States. No company is above the law, no matter how big or how strong it is. The Justice Department will continue to apply our antitrust laws harshly," said the Attorney General of EE.UU. Merrick Garland, in a statement issued by the state agency Xuban.

Kent Walker, Alphabet's Global Affairs President, Google's leading company, has assured that Apple managers have said they choose Google because it is "the best" and that your company's agreement with browsers is not exclusive.

In a 200-page report released on Monday, 5 August, Judge Mehta underscores Google's responsibility and is unaware of the sanctions that the giant of Silicon Valley, who has been sentenced to eight years in prison, can receive.

Google is likely to resort to Mehta’s decision, but in the meantime the Justice Department has another case that challenges Google’s business and advertising technology monopoly. The trial for these events will be held on 9 September.