Think of a search engine. Google, right? Okay, now think of another one. Take a moment. Early users of the internet might remember AskJeeves (later shortened to Ask). The spiteful among you may know of Bing — many people think the name is actually short for Because It’s Not Google. Those people are wrong, but let’s not get facts get in the way of a bit of fun. There’s DuckDuckGo for searchers who care about privacy, but the number of search engines that are actually able to compete with Google is close to none. That’s why it shouldn’t be surprising that a judge recently determined the business to be a monopoly. From AP News:
A judge on Monday ruled that Google’s ubiquitous search engine has been illegally exploiting its dominance to squash competition and stifle innovation, a seismic decision that could shake up the internet and hobble one of the world’s best-known companies.
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“After having carefully considered and weighed the witness testimony and evidence, the court reaches the following conclusion: Google is a monopolist, and it has acted as one to maintain its monopoly,” [Amit] Mehta wrote in his 277-page ruling. He said Google’s dominance in the search market is evidence of its monopoly.
Google’s response is what you would expect: Their market share isn’t the result of anticompetitive practices, it’s because they’re so good at competing that their customers choose them over everyone else. And while there’s no disputing Google’s overwhelming market share, mere size shouldn’t be illegal. There have to be some concrete anti-competitive practices on Google’s part besides being really good at what they do, and you should expect to see that argument play out on appeal. The concrete outcome of this lawsuit will be in limbo until it gets resolved through the appeals process, but the fact that it has gotten this far says something about the state of American antitrust law:
“This victory against Google is an historic win for the American people,” said Attorney General Merrick Garland. “No company — no matter how large or influential — is above the law. The Justice Department will continue to vigorously enforce our antitrust laws.”
Google’s attorneys have a lot of work ahead of them. Amazon should prepare too — they’re next up.
Google Illegally Maintains Monopoly Over Internet Search, Judge Rules [AP News]
Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord™ in the Facebook group Law School Memes for Edgy T14s. He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who cannot swim, a published author on critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at [email protected] and by tweet at @WritesForRent.