Judge Rules 'Monopolist' Google Violated Antitrust Laws

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Above: Google sign is displayed at the company offices on Jan. 25, 2023 in New York City. Image copyright: Leonardo Munoz/VIEWpress/Contributor/Corbis News via Getty Images

The Facts

  • A US federal judge on Monday called Google "a monopolist," ruling that the tech giant has violated US antitrust laws and that its online search dominance had created anticompetitive behavior.

  • Judge Amit Mehta of the US District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that Google had "violated Section 2 of the Sherman Act" in monopolizing the search and advertising markets.

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The Spin

Narrative A

Google's monopoly in search and advertising stifles competition and harms small businesses. Given its staggering market share of nearly 95% in search and 75% in online video, small businesses often pay for Google Ads that deliver questionable results, as they're plagued by bots and inflated metrics. This ruling will foster competition in the industry, ultimately benefiting consumers and the economy.

The Hill

Narrative B

Monday's antitrust ruling unfairly dubs Google a monopoly, ignoring the reality of intense competition in the search engine market. With over 30 search engines, including Yahoo! and Bing, and platforms like Amazon and TikTok vying for search traffic, Google's dominance is due to consumer preference, not anti-competitive practices. The claim that Google controls 90% of web searches overlooks the fact that users can easily choose other search engines.

Newsweek

Metaculus Prediction

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