Judge rules that Google ‘is a monopolist’ in US antitrust case
VergeAUG 1 2024
Judge Rules 'Monopolist' Google Violated Antitrust Laws
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 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.
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.