The News
A federal judge ruled Thursday that Google operated an illegal monopoly in its online advertising business. The decision marks the second such ruling in a year against the tech giant after another judge found it ran a monopoly in online search.
Either ruling could effect an overhaul of Google’s business — including the breakup of the company — and that would hold significant implications for how people find information and do business online.
Shares in Google parent Alphabet fell sharply after Thursday’s ruling.
The ad suit is one of several years-long US government antitrust actions against the country’s biggest and most influential tech companies: A separate case against Meta that could also see its business broken up is in court this week.