Google accused of monopoly in advertising market: 68 percent of 237 billion dollar revenue from outside the US

The trial of search engine company Google in the United States (US) on charges of "monopolizing" the sector has begun. According to the lawsuit filed by the US Department of Justice and a coalition of states, Google dominates the digital advertising market and uses its market power to stifle competition.

Meanwhile, a 2.4 billion euro fine imposed on Google in Europe has been upheld by the European Court of Justice. The EU Commission had fined Google in 2017. The reasoning provided was that the internet giant favored its own price comparison service results over those of its competitors on its general search results page.

SEARCH RESULTS OF COMPETING SERVICES ARE LOWER

According to the information provided, Google presented its own service's search results at the top, highlighting them with an image and text. The search results of competing services, however, appeared further down as mere blue links.

According to data compiled by an AA correspondent from the online statistics portal Statista, while Google generated 0.07 billion dollars in advertising revenue in 2001, it showed a massive increase over the past 22 years, earning 237 billion dollars from this field last year.

GENERATED 76 BILLION DOLLARS IN ADVERTISING REVENUE

Having generated approximately 76 billion dollars in advertising revenue in the US last year, Google thus derived 32 percent of its total advertising revenue from the US. The company generates the remaining 68 percent of its advertising revenue from other countries.

According to the data on the site, the company's total revenues have also seen a significant year-over-year increase. Generating 0.4 billion dollars in revenue in 2002, Google reached 1.5 billion dollars in 2003 and 29.3 billion dollars in total revenue in 2010.

THE BIGGEST GAIN CAME DURING THE COVID-19 PERIOD

The company made its biggest leap during the Covid-19 pandemic. Generating 181 billion dollars in revenue in 2020, the company earned 256 billion dollars in 2021. The company's total revenue in 2023 was 305 billion dollars. While Google earned 237 billion dollars from advertising alone in 2023, this showed that the company generated 77 percent of its revenue from advertisements.

Google also holds immense economic power when compared to other search engines. According to data from the web traffic analysis site Statcounter, Google holds a 90.4 percent market share worldwide compared to other search engines. The market share of Bing, owned by Microsoft, which follows Google most closely, is approximately 4 percent. Yandex is in 3rd place on the list with approximately 2 percent.

News Source: 12punto