Google has been found to have violated antitrust laws by building a moat around its monopoly over search.

In a ruling that could have sweeping impact in the digital ad market, a federal judge sided with the government in a landmark antitrust case over allegations that competitors were sidelined and customers got a lower-quality experience on the internet due to the tech giants dominance over search. The court pointed to exclusive deals with other companies, like Apple and Samsung, to have Google as the default search engine on their phones and browsers. Google is a monopolist, and it has acted as one to maintain its monopoly, wrote U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta.

In the following months, the court is expected to decide on structural relief, which could mean divestitures.

The ruling marks the governments first win in an antitrust case against a tech giant since it sued Microsoft more than 20 years ago.

The order is the culmination of a lawsuit, filed in 2020, by the Justice Department. In the complaint filed in D.C. federal court, the DOJ and 11 states targeted Google abusing its market power to protect a 90 percent share of internet search and 95 percent share of mobile search. The government claimed that Google violated Section 2 of the Sherman Act.

According to the government, Google protected its search monopoly through exclusionary agreements, including tying arrangements and also engaged in anticompetitive conduct to lock up distribution channels and block rivals. It pointed to Googles deals with mobile phone manufacturers, including Apple, which allegedly secured search engine default status and also required distributors to take a bundle of Google apps, prominently feature them, and not engage with Googles rivals.