Washington, August 7: Google has lost the USD 26 billion antitrust lawsuit that alleged it had illegally monopolised the search market. The Google antitrust case was headed by Judge Amit Mehta in Washington, who passed the verdict that Google-parent Alphabet Inc. made the search engine the default option for smartphones and web browsers, which blocked all competitors from succeeding in the market.

US federal judge Amit Mehta, in a 286-page ruling, said that Google's distribution agreements foreclosed a "substantial portion of the general search services market," which impaired rivals. According to a report by Fortune, the federal judge further said that Google had been monopolising distribution on phones and browsers, which made it consistently raise the prices of online advertising without facing any consequences. Apple’s Distraction Control: Tech Giant Introduces New Feature To Hide Cookie, Pop Ups for Safari; Check Details.

The report mentioned that during the trial, the evidence presented in the court had firmly established that Google had maintained its monopoly through "exclusive distribution agreements," leading to an increase in text ads without worrying about competition. Alphabet's company had paid billions to tech giants such as Apple, Samsung Electronics, and others to keep the search engine as the default in smartphones and web browsers. Elon Musk’s Estranged Transgender Daughter Vivian Jenna Wilson Makes Bold Claims About Billionaire Father on His Rival Meta's Thread App, Calls Him ‘A Serial Adulterer’.

Google's action made it the most-used search engine in the world and earned it USD 300 billion in annual revenue through search ads. Judge Amit Mehta also said that competitors, including Amazon, Walmart, and others, have started offering search-related advertising on their websites. He added that Google did not have any monopoly over the search text ads that appear on the top of the search results. The Antitrust enforcers reportedly said that the tech giant monopolised the technology to buy, sell and serve display ads online. The US government would seek to force Google to sell some of its advertising tech products. 

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 07, 2024 03:30 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).