The U.S. presents evidence of Google using its power and wealth to stifle competition, investing billions in agreements with Apple and Samsung.
The pivotal antitrust trial, with the U.S. government facing off against Google, commenced in a Washington district court on Tuesday. The government initiated its argument, alleging that the tech giant engaged in illegal practices to establish a monopoly in internet search. This case represents a significant examination of antitrust law, marking the first trial of its kind against Google in the United States in many years.
Major tech companies and regulatory bodies are closely monitoring this trial, as its verdict could potentially usher in changes to the industry’s operational norms. The outcome may redefine how the public accesses and interacts with the internet or encourage Google to further solidify its hold on the market.
Scheduled for a 10-week duration, the trial will see the government presenting its argument that Google exploited its market dominance and financial resources to suppress competition. Google’s multi-billion-dollar agreements with firms like Apple and Samsung, aimed at securing its position as the default search engine on their devices, are at the center of this allegation. The government contends that these actions excluded competitors and enabled Google to establish a monopoly in the internet search arena.
Google refutes the Justice Department’s accusations. Kent Walker, the company’s long-standing chief legal officer, contends that consumers retain the freedom to use rival search engines, emphasizing that Google’s services constitute only a portion of how people explore the internet.
Google also asserts that its dominant position in the industry, which the government claims constitutes approximately 90% of the U.S. search market, stems from providing a superior product compared to its competitors.
During the government’s opening statements, attorney Kenneth Dintzer from the Justice Department outlined the case against Google. Dintzer argued that the trial would demonstrate how Google maintained a search monopoly over the past decade through exclusive agreements with device manufacturers, which excluded competitors. He also hinted at Google’s efforts to hinder antitrust enforcement by obstructing access to documents and automatically deleting internal messages.
In 2020, the Justice Department initiated its lawsuit, subsequently joining forces with a separate legal action against Google, led by attorneys general from over three dozen states and territories. This state-level case will also be considered in the ongoing trial, with antitrust lawyer William Cavanaugh serving as the lead attorney for that particular lawsuit. On Tuesday, Cavanaugh delivered an opening statement, outlining his argument that Google deliberately withheld certain aspects of its services to put competitors at a disadvantage.
John Schmidtlein, who serves as Google’s lead attorney, made efforts to diminish the significance of default search engines during his opening statements. He argued that there exist various ways for individuals to navigate the internet and also contended that Microsoft’s Bing search engine faced unpopularity due to multiple factors, rather than solely because of Google’s agreements with companies like Apple. In its defense against the government’s allegations, Google consistently tried to portray its search function as merely one component within a broader network of services, including platforms like TikTok and Amazon, which people use for information or product searches.
During the trial, the Justice Department’s first witness, called after a brief intermission following the opening statements, was Hal Varian, Google’s chief economist. The department presented email conversations and internal memos from Varian dating back to the 2000s. These documents involved discussions regarding the threat posed by Microsoft and the strategic importance of search defaults in gaining an advantage over competitors.
Google is concurrently confronting allegations from European Union regulators, accusing the company of breaching Europe’s antitrust regulations. In June, the European Commission initiated a case against Google, concentrating on the company’s control of the online advertising sector and advocating for potential fragmentation of certain aspects of the company. In recent years, EU regulators have imposed substantial fines on Google for antitrust violations, though these decisions remain subject to appeal.
