Business | Searching questions

A court says “Google is a monopolist.” Now what?

The ruling could lead to a big-tech showdown

A street sign at Google headquarters in Mountain View, California, United States
Photograph: Getty Images

Amid the 286-page judgment, issued after nearly four years of trial proceedings and petabytes of evidence, four words stand out. “Google is a monopolist,” wrote Amit Mehta, the judge of a district court in America, adding that “it has acted as one.” His ruling, handed down on August 5th, could lead to big changes for the multi-billion-dollar search market—and for the wider tech industry.

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