By James Hughes A US court has on Monday ruled that Google acted illegally to maintain a monopoly on online searches and related advertising, handing the tech giant a staggering court defeat with the potential to reshape how millions of Americans get information online and to upend decades of dominance.
Google was sued by the Department of Justice in 2020 for its control of about 90% of the online search market.
US District Judge Amit Mehta noted that Google paid billions to ensure it is the default search engine on smartphones and browsers, reports BBC.
This ruling comes after a 10-week trial in which prosecutors accused Google of spending billions of dollars annually to be the default search engine for consumers across platforms.
Doing so, prosecutors said, meant other companies did not have the opportunity or resources to meaningfully compete.
Google’s lawyers defended the company by saying that users are attracted to their search engine because they find it useful, and that Google is investing to make it better for consumers.
<p class=”sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fYAfXe”>“Google is winning because it’s better,” said Google’s lawyer John Schmidtlein during closing arguments earlier this year.What's your reaction?
Excited
0
Happy
0
In Love
0
Not Sure
0
Silly
0
