Teacher Heike Kuck-Hanish from Esslingen, Baden-Württemberg, uses Google's products and services every day - both professionally and privately. But in two weeks she gave them up completely and is looking for alternatives - because of the documentary by the German public broadcaster ARD "The Truth About Google".
Today, everyone who searches for something on the Internet asks Google. And those who want to be found and sell depend on Google. August Ulrich from Berlin has had a brandy factory since 2014 and owes a third of his turnover to his website. Google was a great help to his growth in the beginning - while the relevant services were free. In the meantime, as Ulrich points out to the German public media, attracting attention to his online store is already paid for, and it is becoming increasingly expensive. Since Google is now the only established search engine, there is no alternative.
Google's market power is growing
"We are in Google's hands", says Ulrich. "We can't afford to turn it off. If we don't pay Google to be seen, they simply won't find us. And the brand will no longer be present online." For him, this would be a disaster - because if it loses access to its customers on the Internet, it will also lose turnover.
On the other hand, the advertising business is the most important source of revenue for Google. In 2025 alone, turnover increased by almost 20 percent compared to the previous year and reached $405 billion. The problem is that, according to a US court ruling, Google is abusing its great market power in digital advertising technologies. Because in order to be found, advertisers have to pay and compete with other companies. And Google provides better positions to those who pay more, explains ARD.
August Ulrich says that he never really knows how high his site will be displayed. Nor whether users will come across his brand in a search engine, on YouTube or in their mailbox. He does not receive such information from Google. According to him, the biggest problem, along with the increasing costs of the search engine, is the lack of an alternative. "In the beginning, this was not the case - there were competitors and an online store could exist without Google. Today, it is no longer possible."
Monopoly in the USA
Google has been the focus of attention of competition protection agencies around the world for years. The accusation: the concern is abusing its market power to the detriment of consumers. In 2024 and 2025, two American courts ruled that Google was abusing its monopoly in the search engine market and digital technologies under local law. Jonathan Kanter, who followed both cases as the US Deputy Attorney General, is convinced that companies with such a market share as Google and such influence over the advertising industry have a huge economic impact on society as a whole.
A monopoly-like situation leads to higher prices for the entire economy, for customers, consumers and companies. In turn, the EC imposed a fine of about three billion euros in September 2025 for "abuses in the field of online advertising".
Google is not a charity
The fact that advertising is Google's main source of revenue is no secret - it is recorded in the company's annual profit reports. However, they also reveal something else: that Google wants to show users the most relevant and useful links. However, this represents a conflict of interest in the context of advertising, cartel law expert Thomas Höpner told ARD.
His observations show that, especially when shopping on Google, the boundaries between search results that are useful to the user and advertisements are becoming increasingly blurred. "Google is not a charitable search engine designed to take us to the most appropriate place", says Höpner. "Google is first and foremost an economic instrument interested in making as much money as possible - and that with advertising." For users, this means that they very quickly reach those pages that have paid Google more for this very purpose.
What are the prices on Google
For three weeks, a team from the German public media ARD searched for information on ten products, after which the prices of the first five hits on Google Shopping were analyzed. The result: the top offers were those whose prices were up to 13 percent higher than on the German price comparison portal Idealo. On average, products were three percent more expensive on Google.
On this occasion, the concern says that Google Shopping is not used for price comparison, but for product discovery. And the European Court of Justice found back in 2017 that Google Shopping contains all the elements of a price comparison site.
Is artificial intelligence making things worse?
Entrepreneur August Ulrich is certain that the increasing influence of artificial intelligence on the Internet will make the fight for the best advertising space even more intense, ARD quotes him as predicting. "We are so tied to Google that we can't turn it off even if we wanted to."
Teacher Heike Kuck-Hanish is pleased with the Google alternatives she has come across - such as Magic Earth. She is also impressed by alternative browser and search engine offerings such as Vivaldi and Ecosia.
Author: Jörg Homer (ARD)