Google loses major antitrust case to Department of Justice over search engine monopolization

Google lost a major antitrust case on Monday to the Justice Department, after a federal judge ruled that it has maintained an unfair monopoly when it comes to searching for things online.

US District Judge Amit Mehta ruled that Google must stop its anticompetitive behavior, where it monopolizes exclusive contracts that make it the default search engine on smartphones and computers.

The Justice Department filed the antitrust case during former President Donald Trump's administration, claiming that the company's exclusive contracts block out its strongest competitors like Bing, and DuckDuckGo. The exclusivity of the contracts was the biggest contributors to the ruling.

“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,” Mehta wrote in the opinion, per CNN. “It has violated Section 2 of the Sherman Act.”

Mehta said the contracts solidified Google as the fastest way for a user to find information online, which has fueled its expensive online advertising business.

The ruling is expected to trigger a second hearing that will settle the fines and penalties for the major search engine, but no date or penalty has been announced so far.

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.