On Monday, a federal judge ruled that Google violated antitrust law and acted illegally in order to maintain its monopoly in online searches. There's just one glaring problem: Google isn't a monopoly—not even close.
In fact, there are over 30 other search engines in the world that are dedicated solely to search functionality, including Yahoo!, Bing, and Duck, Duck, Go. Additionally, websites like Amazon, TikTok, and Pinterest have placed increasing competition on Google in recent years as consumers have begun using these websites for all manner of searches, from products to DIY tutorials to medical advice.
The ruling marks the first antitrust decision in the modern tech era, and its implications could be far-reaching for our legal framework, our economy, and consumers.