“After having carefully considered and weighed the witness testimony and evidence, the court reached the following conclusion: Google is a monopolist, and it has acted as one to maintain its monopoly."

So sayeth the Judge. Google has lost its anti-trust case against the US Department of Justice, with the ruling issues this morning. The judge in the year-long case, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta ruled that Google illegally used its market dominance to crush its competitors and in doing so violated Section 2 of the Sherman Act.

According to US Attorney General Merrick Garland, “This victory against Google is an historic win for the American people,” said Attorney General Garland. “No company — no matter how large or influential — is above the law. The Justice Department will continue to vigorously enforce our antitrust laws.”

Assistant Attorney General Kanter who runs the DOJ’s antitrust unit said, “This landmark decision holds Google accountable. It paves the path for innovation for generations to come and protects access to information for all Americans. This victory is a reflection on the tireless efforts of the dedicated public servants at the Antitrust Division and our state law enforcement partners whose work made today’s decision possible.”

The ruling noted that Google “enjoys an 89.2% share of the market for general search services, which increases to 94.9% on mobile devices.” Google has said it will appeal the decision.

"According to Arielle Garcia director of Intelligence for Check My ADs, “Google isn't winning because it's better. It's winning by entrenching itself on all sides, making backroom deals, and seeing to it that users and customers have no other options.”

In a LinkedIn Post shortly after the ruling, she said, “With this landmark decision, and the adtech antitrust trial right around the corner, it looks like Google was right about one thing: this is the year that "informed choice" will prevail.”

Additional reporting by Andrew Birmingham