Google's payments to make its search engine the default for smartphone browsers and elsewhere violated US antitrust law, a federal judge ruled Monday.
Google's online search monopoly ruled illegal by US judge | BBC News
The opinion memorandum [PDF] represents an important milestone for the US Department of Justice in its campaign to tame Big Tech.
"This victory against Google is a historic victory for the American people," Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement. “No company – no matter how big or influential – is above the law. The Department of Justice will continue to vigorously enforce our antitrust laws."
Judge Amit Mehta, who sits in the District of Columbia, said after considering the evidence and testimony from the nine-week trial last year that he reached the following conclusion: "Google is a monopolist, and it has acted as one to maintain its monopoly. It has violated Section 2 of the Sherman Act."
