Word of the Year 2026

"Monopoly" does not mean "one and only vendor of XYZ good/service that exsits ever"

Monopolies can exist when there is technically still competition. Being a monopoly does *NOT* mean you've destroyed all other competitors or that you are literally the only entity in the entire universe offering a good or service.

Whether an entity represents a monopoly is a subjective measure. It is *NOT* a binary true/false based on trivially observable data. It mostly comes down to how the entity behaves with regard to competitors. Principally, using unfair and uncompetitive pricing and sales strategies, egregious lock-ins, and using your market-dominant position to force competitors and consumers to operate in certain ways.

The fact that other ad markets exist at all does not disqualify google from being a monopoly.

> Courts do not require a literal monopoly before applying rules for single firm conduct; that term is used as shorthand for a firm with significant and durable market power — that is, the long term ability to raise price or exclude competitors. That is how that term is used here: a "monopolist" is a firm with significant and durable market power.

https://www.ftc.gov/advice-guidance/competition-guidance/gui...