A federal judge has ruled that Google broke the law by using its prominent position in online search to block competition and slow down new ideas.
Researchers from Northeastern University studied Google’s actions and confirmed that the company controls most of the search market. This ruling is considered one of the most important in recent times regarding business competition laws.
In the trial, the Justice Department claimed Google’s control over the search market harmed the industry as a whole. On the other hand, Google defended itself by saying it wasn’t just competing with other search engines like Bing.
The company argued that it also competes with platforms that include a search function, such as Amazon and Travelocity. Google questioned how it could hold a dominant position with so much competition.
Researchers affirmed Google’s monopoly
Researchers at Northeastern University took on the challenge of answering Google’s claim. Christo Wilson, a computer science professor at the university, explained their approach.
“We went, ‘We’re going to take Google at their word and say maybe they do compete against everybody. What does that actually look like?’” says Wilson. “Guess what? It still looks like Google’s world.”
The recent Google monopoly ruling challenges Big Tech's argument that 19th-century antitrust laws are outdated for modern tech. This decision underscores the evolving relevance of regulatory frameworks. #Google #Antitrust #BigTech #TechRegulation pic.twitter.com/a4vOVpfTkD
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In a recent study published in the Proceedings of the International AAAI Conference on Web and Social Media, researchers from Northeastern University recruited a group of US residents.
They provided these participants with a special browser extension that tracked all their online activities. By watching where participants went online each time they used their browser, the researchers were able to categorize online searches into 30 main groups.
Google dominates more than 50 percent of searches
Despite the competition Google faced, the study found that it still captured more than 50 percent of searches in 21 out of the 30 categories. These categories included navigation, shopping, real estate, health and wellness, dining, and travel. In areas in which Google wasn’t the top choice, other platforms led the way, such as Zillow in real estate and Amazon in shopping.
“Even if you take Google at their word that they face competition from all verticals, they still appear to be dominant in the market,” Wilson says. “They don’t win 100% of the time, but they win a majority of the time.”
Google’s strategy of becoming the default search option has also played a significant role in its dominance. During the antitrust trial, it was revealed that Google spent $26.3 billion in 2021 to secure its position as the default search engine on two major browsers, Safari and Firefox.
This was a key factor in the ruling against Google, which could have a major impact on the tech industry. Judge Amit P. Mehta of the US District Court for the District of Columbia highlighted this in his decision.
