US judge rules that search engines are illegal
How Google is losing in the search market: An update on Apple, Google and the search giants challenge the Trump-Bogoliubov decision
Google argued throughout the trial that it has not acted anticompetitively and that its large market share is a result of creating a superior product that consumers enjoy. It contended that the Google search business should be compared to a much larger range of peers than the government proposed in its market definition, suggesting it competes directly with other platforms where search is a big part of the business, even if they don’t index the web (such as Amazon).
One of the most significant revelations from the case was the size of Google’s payments to Apple to secure the default search engine spot on iPhone browsers. An expert witness for Google let slip that the company shares 36 percent of search ad revenue from Safari with Apple. According to Apple, in 2022, Google paid them $20 billion for the default position.
Attorney General Garland called the decision an historic win. He said itaves the path for innovation for generations to come.
The ways in which Google will have to adjust its business in light of the judgments in San Francisco and Washington are yet to be determined. The judge is considering proposed penalties in the Play litigation and Mehta will hold a separate trial to determine remedies for the search case. But some changes Google has made in response to antitrust scrutiny in recent years have been costly.
Mehta ruled that there was no competition in both general search and general search text ads. He found that deals with partners harm competition, and that Google hadn’t shown it was wrong.
