CAMP Celebrates Historic U.S. DOJ Win in Google Search Case

August 5, 2024 – Today, Judge Amit Mehta sided with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) in its challenge of Google’s monopoly in online search. Judge Mehta found that Google holds a monopoly in both the general search services and general search text ads market, and that the multi-billion dollar default agreements Google struck with companies like Apple have harmed competition.

Showing how far the global antitrust conversation has come in recent years, the decision stands in stark contrast to the 2016 finding of Canada’s Competition Bureau that those same agreements “ha[d] not resulted in a substantial lessening or prevention of competition.” While appeals of the decision are still possible and the remedy has yet to be determined, the win is the first step to restoring competition in a critical market.

“This win is a historic moment in the global work of reining in monopoly power,” said CAMP Executive Director Keldon Bester. “The U.S. is showing us how assertive antitrust enforcement can be an effective tool for protecting the consumers and innovators that depend on well-functioning markets. Canada has taken an important step in strengthening our own antitrust law and now it is incumbent on us to vigorously enforce it.”