Google Loses Search Engine Monopoly, by Thomas Gallatin

The world’s largest search engine was found guilty of violating the Sherman Antitrust Act by U.S. District Judge Amit P. Mehta, who wrote in his decision, “Google is a monopolist, and it has acted as one to maintain its monopoly.”

Based on the numbers, it’s hard to disagree. Google owns more than 90% of Internet search engine traffic.

Google spent billions on deals with the likes of Apple and Samsung to ensure that its search engine was the default on the vast majority of smartphones. This move helped Google garner hundreds of billions in annual ad revenue. Last year alone, Google pulled in north of $237 billion in ad revenue. Compare that to just over $51 billion 10 years ago. Google’s smartphone deal appears to have a lot to do with its tremendous growth in ad revenue. At least that’s what the judge concluded. …