How Google produces its search results, US court documents show: ‘Not by happenstance’
The judge said that Google knows the value of being the default search engine on devices as “the default is extremely valuable real estate.”
A US judge ruled that Google had violated antitrust law by spending billions of dollars in order to secure exclusive agreements with developers, carriers and equipment makers with the aim to become the default search engine. Owing to this, Google broke the law and maintained an illegal monopoly on online search, federal judge Amit Mehta ruled. This marks the first big win for US antitrust authorities who have filed lawsuits challenging Big Tech's market dominance. Judge Amit Mehta wrote in the his 277-page ruling, “Google is a monopolist, and it has acted as one to maintain its monopoly.”
Read more: Google illegally maintains monopoly over internet search, US judge rules
Do users switch to Google rivals?
The judge noted that users have the choice to switch to different search engines but they rarely exercise the same. He noted, “Sure, users can access Google's rivals by switching the default search access point or by downloading a rival search app or browser. But the market reality is that users rarely do so.”
How important is it for Google to be the default search engine?
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The judge said that Google knows the value of being the default search engine on devices as "the default is extremely valuable real estate. Because many users simply stick to searching with the default, Google receives billions of queries every day through those access points.”
He added, “Google, of course, recognizes that losing defaults would dramatically impact its bottom line. For instance, Google has projected that losing the Safari default would result in a significant drop in queries and billions of dollars in lost revenues.”
What did the judge say on Google's agreements and how they function?
The judge said that Google has no competitor because of the agreements that it has struck with other companies in order to become the only search engine. He wrote, “The distribution agreements have caused a third key anticompetitive effect: They have reduced the incentive to invest and innovate in search. There is no genuine ‘competition for the contract.’ Google has no true competitor.”
Read more: Google built illegal monopoly to become world's default search engine: US court in landmark antitrust case
How has Google achieved its status in the market?
Google has not achieved market dominance by happenstance, the judge noted. The company “has hired thousands of highly skilled engineers, innovated consistently, and made shrewd business decisions. The result is the industry’s highest quality search engine, which has earned Google the trust of hundreds of millions of daily users,” he wrote.