Congratulations to the US Department of Justice on its first scalp in its antitrust lawsuit against Google, filed in 2020. Judge Mehta in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia agreed with the plaintiffs in United States et al v. Google LLC that Google had acted illegally to maintain a monopoly on online search and related advertising.
Good on the DOJ for simply enforcing antitrust laws that have been on the books for a long time (namely s. 2 of the Sherman Antitrust Act 1890)—and with this monopoly gone (though Google is appealing), the US has a chance to see some real innovation in the web space again.
‘Google is a monopolist, and it has acted as one to maintain its monopoly,’ wrote the court. It continued:
Specifically, the court holds that (1) there are relevant product markets for general search services and general search text ads; (2) Google has monopoly power in those markets; (3) Google’s distribution agreements are exclusive and have anticompetitive effects; and (4) Google has not offered valid procompetitive justifications for those agreements. Importantly, the court also finds that Google has exercised its monopoly power by charging supracompetitive prices for general search text ads. That conduct has allowed Google to earn monopoly profits.
Judge Mehta’s 286 pp. opinion is comprehensive, and it’ll take me a little longer to go through it all. An initial skim shows he has been incredibly thorough, also a reflection of both sides’ lawyers.
The DOJ has asked for ‘structural relief’, which could mean breaking up the company.
There are pending federal lawsuits against Meta, Facebook, Amazon, and Apple.
Happily, another case over Google’s ad tech will go to trial in September. Removing a monopolist can only be a good thing for innovation and competition.
It’s time, folks, to obey the law of the land. You’ve got away with too much for too long.
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