Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) might be worth $2 trillion but it is "not above the law," after a federal judge ruled that the company's monopoly in the online search market is illegal.
What Happened: On Monday, Sanders, who is the chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), took to X, formerly Twitter, and said the court's decision is a major victory for the American people.
"Today's court decision that Google violated the Sherman Antitrust Act is a major victory for the American people. Google may be a $2 trillion corporation. Its founders may be worth $292 billion. But it's not above the law," he stated.
He then suggested breaking the search and advertising giant stating, "It's time to hold Google accountable and break it up."
Today's court decision that Google violated the Sherman Antitrust Act is a major victory for the American people. Google may be a $2 trillion corporation. Its founders may be worth $292 billion. But it's not above the law.
It's time to hold Google accountable and break it up.— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) August 5, 2024
Why It Matters: The lawsuit alleged that Alphabet's payments to make its search engine the default option on smartphone web browsers violated U.S. antitrust law by effectively blocking competition in the space.
The company was accused of maintaining a monopoly on online search and related advertising through $26 billion in payments to Apple Inc., Samsung Electronics Co, and other smartphone makers over multiple decades.
Alphabet currently has a market cap of $1.966 trillion. Last month, Alphabet announced second-quarter revenue of $84.742 billion, surpassing the consensus estimate of $84.202 billion.