Google has suffered two landmark legal defeats within a year, with federal judges ruling the tech giant illegally maintained monopolies in both its online advertising technology and search business. The rapid-fire judgments have stunned Silicon Valley and signaled a potential sea change in how U.S. courts are approaching the power of Big Tech.
The most recent blow came on Thursday when a federal judge determined that Google used unlawful tactics to dominate the online advertising space, where it plays a central role connecting advertisers with publishers. This follows an August 2024 decision in which another judge ruled that Google had engaged in anticompetitive practices to preserve its monopoly in online search.
Legal experts say the twin rulings are without precedent. “Two courts have reached similar conclusions in product markets that go to the heart of Google’s business,” said William Kovacic, a professor of law at George Washington University and former chair of the Federal Trade Commission. “That has to be seen as a real threat.”
For years, antitrust investigations into tech giants have often amounted to little more than regulatory theater, ending in fines or settlements that did little to change corporate behavior. Technology’s breakneck pace and shifting political priorities have often dulled enforcement efforts. But the latest rulings against Google suggest a new judicial appetite to tackle entrenched monopolies in digital markets.
Google’s legal woes are not isolated. This week, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) began its long-awaited trial against Meta, alleging that the company illegally maintained a monopoly in social media by acquiring potential competitors Instagram and WhatsApp. These cases are part of a broader push to curb what regulators describe as harmful concentrations of power in the hands of a few dominant tech platforms.
With Google now facing the prospect of major structural remedies—including the potential breakup of parts of its advertising business—regulators may be emboldened to pursue more aggressive enforcement. For Big Tech, the era of business-as-usual under light-touch antitrust scrutiny may be coming to an end.
