On 5 August 2024, a US District Court found that Google held a monopoly in online search, and had illegally safeguarded that monopoly. While the judgment was regarded as highly important for the US, the question remains what it could mean for Europe. In the Austrian news show Ö1 Mittagsjournal, Vicky Robertson was asked exactly that. You can listen to the interview here (recorded on 6 August 2024). In the EU, the European Commission already opined in 2018 that Google had illegally protected its market power in online search through various means (Google Android), which the General Court upheld in 2022. And in March 2024, the Digital Markets Act entered into force, starting to make the market for online search more contestable. But it is important that antitrust enforcement on both sides of the Atlantic is now aligning when it comes to Big Tech.
In an interview with Austrian newspaper Salzburger Nachrichten, Vicky Robertson was asked whether the antitrust fines imposed in Europe were enough to deter Big Tech companies like Google from engaging in anti-competitive activity. Read it here (print edition of 7 August 2024).