Google illegally monopolized the search market through exclusive deals, a judge ruled Monday, handing the government a win in its first major antitrust case against a tech giant in more than two decades.
Judge Amit Mehta in Washington said the Alphabet unit¡¯s $26 billion in payments to make its search engine the default option on smartphones and web browsers effectively blocked any other competitor from succeeding in the market.
¡°Google¡¯s distribution agreements foreclose a substantial portion of the general search services market and impair rivals¡¯ opportunities to compete,¡± Mehta said in a 286-page ruling.
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