Google Illegally Profited From Its Monopoly, Judge Finds in Explosive Verdict | EUROtoday

On Aug 6, 2024

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SAccording to the Attorney General, this can be a “historic victory for the American people.” The digital large Google was discovered responsible Monday by a Washington choose of anti-competitive practices regarding its search engine, particularly by way of contracts imposing it because the default software program on gadgets, a call which it would enchantment.

According to the choice (pdf), “after carefully considering the testimony and evidence, the court has come to this conclusion: Google is a monopoly and it has acted in a manner that maintains that monopoly.” A brand new listening to will decide the quantity of the positive imposed on the corporate, and Judge Amit Mehta may additionally drive the corporate to vary the way in which it does enterprise or, in essentially the most excessive state of affairs, drive a derivative of Alphabet, Google's mother or father firm.

Pay to play

The Mountain View, California-based firm was accused of paying tens of billions of {dollars}, as much as $26 billion final yr alone, to make sure that its search engine was the default on a variety of smartphones and Internet browsers, with most of that cash going to Apple. “Google's distribution agreements preempt a significant share of the search engine market and deny its rivals opportunities to compete,” the choose mentioned in his choice.

READ ALSO Google earlier than the American courts: a trial that may resolve “the future of the Internet”Already battered by the autumn in world monetary markets, shares in Alphabet, Google's mother or father firm, elevated their losses and closed down 4.61% on the shut of buying and selling on Wall Street, at $160.64.

Google, in a press release from its president of worldwide affairs Kent Walker, mentioned the choice acknowledged “that Google offers the best search engine but concludes that we should not be allowed to make it readily available.” “Under these circumstances we intend to appeal.”

Privileged place

The U.S. Justice Department had argued that the distribution agreements violated antitrust legislation, deeming the contracts unlawful. During the trial, which resulted in early May in Washington, the choose expressed doubts in regards to the authorities's case and likewise about Google's protection, questioning how a rival search engine would be capable of pay Apple a excessive value to get a most popular place on its gadgets.

Google additionally assured that searches carried out on Amazon, Facebook and Expedia (tour operator) have been rivals to its search engine, making the tech large's place a lot much less necessary.

For the competitors authorities, the related market is that of common Internet searches and Google holds 80% of it within the United States. According to the Statcounter web site, Google's search engine represented greater than 90% of the worldwide market firstly of July and greater than 95% of searches carried out on smartphones.

“Huge defeat”

The search engine is a crucial a part of the group's enterprise mannequin, representing greater than $175 billion in promoting income in 2023, out of a complete turnover of $307 billion.

But it additionally serves as a gateway to Google's associated providers and showcases movies from its YouTube platform, which add $62 billion in advert income. “The loss for Google is huge. If there were a divestment requirement, it would cut Google off from its primary revenue stream. Even banning these distribution deals could be detrimental to Google,” Emarketer analyst Evelyn Mitchell-Wolf mentioned in a commentary.

This is the primary time that U.S. competitors authorities have taken on a serious expertise firm in courtroom since Microsoft was focused greater than twenty years in the past. That lawsuit in opposition to Microsoft and the dominance of its Windows working system helped outline in legislation how a expertise platform illegally abuses its monopoly.

This is subsequently a serious victory for the Department of Justice at a time when it has launched a collection of proceedings in opposition to different digital giants, beginning with Amazon, Meta (Facebook, Instagram) and Microsoft, once more to denounce anti-competitive practices.

https://www.lepoint.fr/economie/google-a-illegalement-profite-de-son-monopole-conclut-un-juge-dans-un-verdict-explosif-06-08-2024-2567259_28.php