Google, one of the giants of the Internet, was found guilty of monopolistic practices, especially with regard to its search engine after contracts forced it as the default software on various devices, a judge in Washington ruled today.

According to the documents obtained by AFP, the judge said that “after carefully studying the testimony and the evidence, he came to the conclusion that Google is a monopoly and acted in a way to maintain that monopoly.”

The fine to be imposed on the company will be determined at the next meeting.

The group had been accused of paying tens of billions of dollars, up to $26 billion last year alone, to ensure the search engine would be the default software on some “smartphones” and web browsers. Most of this amount was given to the Apple company.

“The distribution agreements signed by Google pre-empt a significant portion of the search engine market and deprive its competitors of opportunities to compete with it,” the judge ruled.

Alphabet, the parent company of Google, fell to $160.64 on the New York Stock Exchange, down 4.61%.

US Attorney General Merrick Garland in a statement called the decision “a historic victory for the American people” stressing that “no company is above the law”.

Google declined to comment.