US-Google was found guilty of violating antitrust laws on search engines, facing huge financial losses and the risk of having to split Alphabet.

"After the investigation, the court concluded: Google is a monopoly and they have taken such actions to maintain their dominant position," Judge Amit P. Mehta announced on August 5.

The decision was made after a 10-week trial in Washington DC, the plaintiffs were the US Department of Justice and dozens of state attorneys general since 2020. The group accused Alphabet, Google's parent company, of spending tens of billions of dollars each year to make its search engine "unlawfully the default" globally. This is considered the first major victory for the federal government in the fight against Big Tech's market dominance.

Google logo at the company's event in Vietnam in July.

The ruling will also pave the way for a second trial to determine what measures Alphabet can take, including breaking up the company into smaller companies - a major change in the online advertising industry that Google has dominated for years. According to Reuters, it is also a signal that US antitrust enforcers will be more aggressive in prosecuting Big Tech.

However, Alphabet still has time to make adjustments and fixes. In addition, the company said it plans to appeal. "This decision acknowledges that Google provides the best search engine but concludes that we should not be allowed to make it easier and more available to users," the company said in a statement.

US Attorney General Merrick Garland called the ruling "a historic victory for the American people", adding that "no company, no matter how large or influential, is above the law".

Meanwhile, White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said that "the ruling promoting competition is a victory for the American people." According to him, Americans "deserve a free, fair, and open Internet."

According to court documents, Google currently controls about 90% of the overall online search market and 95% on smartphones. The company spent $26.3 billion in 2021 alone to ensure it is the default search engine on many platforms, thereby maintaining its market share.

One of the companies that receives the most money from Google is Apple. According to court documents released earlier this year, Eddy Cue, senior vice president of services at Apple, said that Google paid the company $20 billion in 2022, equivalent to 17.5% of the iPhone company's operating income.

Court documents obtained by Business Insider also show that since 2017, default search on Safari, Firefox, and other browsers has generated 54% of Google's search revenue each year. In 2020, Alphabet estimates it could lose 60-80% of its search volume on Apple devices if it is replaced, equivalent to a loss of $28.2 billion to $32.7 billion. Therefore, the ruling will cost both parties tens of billions of dollars.

Analysts predict that Alphabet will have to split the company after the ruling. "Separating the search business would cut Alphabet off from its largest revenue source. Losing the ability to sign exclusive default agreements could also hurt them," Emarketer analyst Evelyn Mitchell-Wolf told Reuters.