Google is easily the biggest name when it comes to search engines and no other tech company comes close. Microsoft is doing what it can with Bing but it is hardly comparable to the popularity that Google has acquired for itself in the space.
Google was so good at its search engine business that it was able to become one of the biggest tech companies in the world based on that foundation. However, it seems like maintaining its position at the top has required some unethical behavior on its part, and the company has just been found guilty by a US court.
Google Violated Antitrust Law To Stay As The Default Search Engine On Devices
It’s a pretty monumental day, as Google, the biggest search engine in the world and one of the foremost tech companies, has been found guilty of violating antitrust laws. Yep, a judge in the US District Court for the District of Columbia just ruled that Google has been running an illegal monopoly in regards to its search engine.
Google paid billions of dollars to major tech manufacturers in order to keep its search engine as the default option on the devices and browsers that those manufacturers make. For instance, Apple was paid as much as $20b for Google to be the default search engine on its devices and even agreed to pay Apple 36% of search ad revenue that came from users using Safari. That’s crazy.
Samsung is another company that was found to have received billions of dollars from the American tech company. It’s believed that having Google as the default option on Apple and Samsung devices (the two biggest smartphone manufacturers in the world) brought Google more than $300b in revenue. It’s no wonder other search engines struggle to compete when Google isn’t afraid to throw money at the problem.
How This Could Potentially Impact Google’s Business Is Yet To Be Seen
The big question is, what is Google going to do about this? Well, if an appeal fails, they’ll simply need to cut off all actions and strategies that are considered monopolistic. Does that mean that Samsung or Apple will stop using Google as the default search engine in their respective browsers? I doubt it because customers will simply prefer Google. It just means those companies won’t be getting rewarded for their loyalty any longer.
Plus, considering how much money Apple makes on the side from its search ad revenue cut, I doubt they’d want to see Google cut them off.
It could also mean that Google-controlled platforms like Android or Chrome might actually need to give you the option to choose a search engine instead of thrusting Google on you. That’d be interesting to see.
Google Has Made A Statement Regarding The Judgment
Unsurprisingly, of course, Google has responded to this judgment. It starts off by cockily twisting the judgment into an acknowledgment of the superiority of its product. However, it ends by saying that it will appeal the judgment since people are “increasingly looking for information in more and more ways”.
The appeal process could take some time, but I wouldn’t be too surprised if they lose that too.
