Asia Tech Wire (Aug 6) -- U.S. Federal District Judge Amit Mehta ruled Monday that Google broke the law by monopolizing the Internet search market, the first victory for the U.S. government in a series of antitrust lawsuits against major technology companies.

Mehta noted that Google paid $26.3 billion in 2021 alone to ensure that cellphone makers set Google as the default search engine on new phones.

The U.S. Department of Justice previously sued search engine giant Google, claiming that Google has about 90% of the online search market and 95% of the smartphone market.

Meanwhile, another case against Google's advertising technology is due to go to trial this September.