On Aug. 5, U.S. District Judge Amit P. Mehta ruled that Google violated antitrust laws to preserve its monopoly in online search. Putting a fine point on it, the judge wrote in his decision: “Google is a monopolist, and it has acted as one to maintain its monopoly.” This landmark ruling marks the first major antitrust verdict against a tech giant in the modern digital era. It’s the right decision, and long overdue. It’s also poised to reshape the tech industry for the better.
According to the case, Google’s anticompetitive actions include paying billions of dollars annually for exclusive agreements with companies including Apple and Samsung. These deals ensure Google as the default search engine on all their devices and browsers. As stated in the court’s ruling, these agreements “foreclose 45 percent of the general search text ads market.”
It’s hard to disagree with the judge’s assertion here. These agreements prevent any potential competitor from achieving the scale necessary to pose a …