A federal judge ruled that Google maintained an illegal monopoly in search and advertising markets, marking a significant victory for the Department of Justice.
Why it matters. This is the first major decision in a wave of tech monopoly cases brought by the U.S. government in recent years, potentially setting a precedent for future rulings against other tech giants.
Key details:
- Judge Amit Mehta found Google violated Section 2 of the Sherman Act, which prohibits monpolies
- The court focused on Google’s exclusive search deals with Android and Apple devices as key to its anticompetitive behaviour.
- The ruling focuses on Google’s liability, not remedies
- Decision comes after a 10-week trial last fall
Why we care. While immediate changes are unlikely, advertisers should start preparing for potential long-term impacts on their digital marketing strategies.
Between the lines. The case revealed Google pays Apple $20 billion annually for default search status on iPhones.
The big picture. This ruling could influence how century-old antitrust laws are applied to modern digital markets in pending cases against Amazon, Apple, and Meta.
What’s next:
- Remedies to address Google’s monopoly will be determined in future proceedings
- Google faces another DOJ trial over its ad tech business, starting September 9th
What they’re saying. “Google is a monopolist, and it has acted as one to maintain its monopoly,” Judge Mehta wrote in his decision.
The bottom line. While a major setback for Google, the full impact on its business practices remains to be seen as the case moves to the remedies phase.
New on Search Engine Land
About the author
Anu Adegbola has been Paid Media Editor of Search Engine Land since 2024. She covers paid search, paid social, retail media, video and more.
In 2008, Anu’s career started with
delivering digital marketing campaigns (mostly but not exclusively Paid Search) by building strategies, maximising ROI, automating repetitive processes and bringing efficiency from every part of marketing departments through inspiring leadership both on agency, client and marketing tech side.
Outside editing Search Engine Land article she is the founder of PPC networking event – PPC Live, host of weekly podcast PPCChat Roundup, and brand evangelist at ClickTech.
She is also an international speaker with some of the stages she has presented on being SMX (US), SMX (Munich), Friends of Search (Amsterdam), brightonSEO, The Marketing Meetup, HeroConf (PPC Hero), SearchLove, BiddableWorld, SESLondon, PPC Chat Live, AdWorld Experience (Bologna) and more.
