Why Google's Chrome monopoly won't crack anytime soon

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2024-11-23 13:30:04

Opinion The US Department of Justice has accused a major tech company of an illegal web monopoly and tried to force them to split off their web browser. Sound familiar?

Oh, right, it was the United States vs Microsoft, aka Netscape vs Internet, in 1998. This time around, it's the United States vs Google. Judge Amit Mehta of the US District Court ruled that Google violated the Sherman Antitrust Act by stifling advertising competition and arranging exclusive and restrictive contracts with other companies. To quote Mehta: "Google is a monopolist, and it has acted as one to maintain its monopoly."

In detail, Mehta found that Google's contracts with Apple, Samsung, other smartphone companies, and Mozilla required them to use Google as the default search engine. In return, Google reportedly paid Apple $18 billion annually to secure its position as the iPhone's default search engine. Other companies received over $8 billion a year to ensure that Google was their search engine of choice.

The judge determined that Google's practice of paying billions of dollars annually to device manufacturers and web browsers to set Google as the default search engine effectively blocked competitors from gaining market share.