‘This is the most important antitrust case of the century, and it’s the first of a big slate of cases to come down against Big Tech’
By Joe Kovacs
For those who have a problem with the overarching power of Google, a federal judge on Monday ruled the popular search engine acted illegally to maintain a monopoly in online search.
The 277-page decision by Judge Amit P. Mehta of U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia is being called a landmark ruling that could force tech giants to change their business protocols.
“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, finding that Google violated the Sherman Act, a major antitrust law. “This landmark decision holds Google accountable,” said Jonathan Kanter, antitrust chief at the U.S. Department of Justice. “It paves the path for innovation for generations to come and protects access to information for all Americans.”
“This is the most important antitrust case of the century, and it’s the first of a big slate of cases to come down against Big Tech,” Rebecca Haw Allensworth, a professor at Vanderbilt University’s law school told the New York Times. “It’s a huge turning point.”