MARKET MONOPOLY: Google appeals ruling in massive antitrust case

Search engine giant Google is appealing a US court ruling that found the company guilty of acting illegally to maintain a monopoly in online search.

A U.S. District Court judge ruled Monday morning that Google exploited its dominant status in the search industry, in part by paying companies like Apple to make its search engine the default choice on their devices and web browsers.

Judge Amit P. Mehta of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia issued the ruling, which is a major blow to Google and could change the way the company does business.

READ ALSO: Russia sanctions Google, TikTok for failing to remove ‘prohibited content’

“After carefully considering and weighing the witness testimony and evidence, the court reaches the following conclusion: Google is a monopolist, and has acted as a monopolist to maintain its monopoly,” Mehta wrote in his opinion filed Monday. “Google has violated Section 2 of the Sherman Act.”

Google VP of Global Affairs Kent Walker told TechCrunch that the company plans to appeal the ruling. Walker reiterated Google’s previous claims that it leveraged its dominant position to create the best and most useful search engine, which benefits both users and advertising.

MARKET MONOPOLY: Google moves to appeal ruling in massive antitrust case first appeared on Latest Nigeria News | Headlines from Ripples Nigeria.