GOOGLE has been branded an abusive monopolist by a federal judge for the second time in less thana year,this time forillegallyexploitingsomeofitsonline marketing technology to boost the profits fuelling an internet empire currently worth USD 1.8 trillion. TherulingissuedonThursday by US District Judge Leonie Brinkema in Virginia comes on the heels of a separate decision in August that concluded Google’snamesakesearchengine has been illegally leveraging its dominancetostiflecompetition and innovation.

 

After the US Justice Department targeted Google’s ubiquitoussearchengineduring President Donald Trump’s first administration, the same agency went after the company’s lucrative digital advertising networkin2023duringPresident Joe Biden’s ensuing administration in an attempt to undercut the powerthat Google has amassed since its inception in a Silicon Valley garage in 1998. Although antitrust regulatorsprevailed both times, the battleis likely to continue for several more years as Google tries tooverturnthetwomonopolydecisions in appeals while forgingahead in the new and highlylucrative technological frontierof artificial intelligence.

 

Thenext stepinthe latest caseis a penalty phase that will likelybeginlatethisyearorearlynext year. The same so-called “remedy”hearings in the search monopoly case are scheduled to beginMonday in Washington DC, where Justice Department lawyers will try to convince USDistrict Judge Amit Mehta toimpose a sweeping punishmentthatincludesaproposedrequirementforGoogletosellitsChromeweb browser