Photo: Alain Jocard Archives Agence France-Presse According to the Statcounter website, Google's search engine represented more than 90% of the global market at the beginning of July.
Erwan Lucas – Agence France-Presse in Washington
Published yesterday at 16:04 Updated yesterday at 16:34
- United States
The American digital giant Google was found guilty on Monday by a Washington judge of anti-competitive practices concerning its search engine, notably via contracts imposing it as the default software on devices, a decision which it will appeal.
According to documents seen by AFP, the judge said that “after carefully reviewing the testimony and evidence, the court has come to this conclusion: Google is a monopoly and it has acted in a manner that maintains that monopoly.”
A new hearing will determine the amount of the fine imposed on the company.
The Mountain View, California-based group was accused of having paid tens of billions of dollars, up to $26 billion last year alone, to ensure that its search engine was the default on a number of smartphones and Internet browsers, with the bulk of that sum going to Apple.
“The distribution agreements signed by Google preempt a significant share of the search engine market and deny its rivals opportunities to compete,” the judge justified in his decision.
Already battered by the fall of the financial markets worldwide, the share price of Alphabet, Google's parent company, increased its losses and ended down 4.61% at the close on Wall Street, at 160.64 US dollars.
In a statement, the American Attorney General, Merrick Garland, described the decision as a “historic victory for the American people.” “No company is above the law, the Department of Justice will continue to enforce our laws against anticompetitive practices,” he added.
Google, in a statement from its president of global affairs, Kent Walker, said the decision recognized “that Google offers the best search engine but concluded that we should not be allowed to make it readily available.”
200% Deposit Bonus up to €3,000 180% First Deposit Bonus up to $20,000“Under these conditions we intend to appeal,” added Mr. Walker.
Privileged position
The American Department of Justice considered that the distribution agreements violated competition law, considering these contracts illegal.
During the trial, which ended in early May in Washington, the judge expressed doubts about the government's demonstration, but also about Google's defense, wondering how a rival search engine would be able to pay top dollar to Apple for a prime position on its devices.
Google has also assured that searches carried out on Amazon, Facebook or even Expedia (tour operator) are part of competition with its search engine, de facto making the position of the tech giant much less important.
For competition authorities, the relevant market is general Internet user searches — Google holds 80% of it in the United States.
According to the Statcounter website, at the beginning of July, Google's search engine represented more than 90% of the global market, and even more than 95% of searches carried out on smartphones.
“Detrimental for Google”
The search engine is an important element of the group's business model, since in 2023 it represented more than $175 billion in advertising revenue, out of a total revenue of $307 billion.
But it also serves as a gateway to Google’s related services and showcases videos from its YouTube platform, which add $62 billion in ad revenue.
“Google’s loss is huge. If there were a divestment requirement, it would cut Google off from its main source of revenue. Even banning these distribution deals could be detrimental to Google,” Emarketer analyst Evelyn Mitchell-Wolf said in a commentary.
This is the first time U.S. antitrust authorities have taken on a major tech company in court since Microsoft was targeted more than two decades ago.
This trial against Microsoft and the dominance of the Windows operating system helped to legally define how a technology platform illegally abuses its monopoly to punish its rivals.
This is therefore a major victory for the Department of Justice, as it has launched a series of procedures against other digital giants, starting with Amazon, Meta (Facebook, Instagram) and Microsoft, again to denounce anti-competitive practices.