Google Loses Antitrust Lawsuit In Federal Court

In one of the largest US antitrust lawsuits in decades, a landmark decision by federal judge, Amit Mehta has been reached, designating Google as a monopoly.

According to judge Mehta’s ruling, Google has violated U.S. antitrust laws by maintaining a monopoly over online search & advertising markets for over a decade, resulting in inflated advertising costs for businesses, and diminished revenue for publishers.

The U.S. District Court of Columbia concluded Google’s dominance resulted in advertisers paying higher rates, while competitors are left unable to fairly compete, costing billions in inflated prices annually, while simultaneously stifling competition.

Although the antitrust ruling against Google primarily targets its practices in online search & advertising markets, this decision could have broader implications for Google’s other products & services, such as YouTube, as YouTube utilizes Google’s ad technology for its advertising & search algorithm.

If this happens, the domino effect could potentially signal a change in YouTube’s payout structure for content creators.

Google has already announced that is has no intention of accepting this decision, and intends to appeal this ruling with the U.S. federal appellate Court of Appeals. Although it’s still too early to determine if the appellate court will uphold this ruling.