- 2 August 2024
- ACTUALITÉS
The Open Internet Project welcomes the groundbreaking US federal decision against Google's illegal monopoly
« This historic decision is a crucial step towards restoring an open and competitive Internet. »
The Open Internet Project (OIP) welcomes US federal judge Amit Mehta’s decision to convict Google of illegal monopolistic practices in online search. This decision marks an important victory, not only for the US Department of Justice (DoJ), but also for the entire digital ecosystem, as it represents a crucial step towards fairer competition and a more balanced technology market.
The judge aptly described Google as a “monopolistic” player in his ruling, confirming that the company violated US antitrust laws by spending billions of dollars on exclusive deals with wireless carriers, browser developers and device manufacturers, including Apple. These practices allowed Google to strengthen its dominant position, with payments exceeding $26 billion by 2021.
Attorney General Merrick Garland called the decision “a historic victory for the American people”, stressing that no company is above the law. Indeed, we can easily regard this decision as one of the greatest victories against the monopoly of the tech giants by the US authorities.
This decision could be the first in a long series of lawsuits against American tech giants, as demonstrated by the pending cases brought by the DoJ’s antitrust division against Apple and the Federal Trade Commission’s lawsuits against Amazon and Meta.
The Open Internet Project regards this decision as an essential step forward in ensuring an open and competitive internet. We call on regulators, particularly European regulators, to continue their efforts to dismantle the anti-competitive practices of technology giants and encourage fair competition.
Contacts:
Léonidas Kalogeropoulos, Managing Director : +33607315126 – l.k@openinternetproject.eu
Lucie Lebret, Project Manager : +33757503010 – lucie.lebret@mediation-arguments.com