Google illegally monopolized the search market through exclusive deals, a judge ruled Monday, handing the government a win in its first major antitrust case against a tech giant in more than two decades.
Judge Amit Mehta in Washington said the Alphabet unit’s $26 billion in payments to make its search engine the default option on smartphones and web browsers effectively blocked any other competitor from succeeding in the market.
"Google’s distribution agreements foreclose a substantial portion of the general search services market and impair rivals’ opportunities to compete,” Mehta said in a 286-page ruling.