Google has presented its final arguments to a federal judge in Washington, D.C., defending itself against accusations of operating an unlawful monopoly in search. The company filed its posttrial brief in response to the US Department of Justice’s claims that Google used exclusionary contracts to stifle competition in the search market.
Users and partners choose Google Search based on its quality, says Google
According to Google, evidence from the trial conclusively demonstrates its position as the highest quality and most popular search engine in the United States. It includes overwhelming preference from partners who choose to preload Google Search as the default engine.
However, Google reportedly pays billions to companies like Apple to place their search engine as the default in their devices. Google is a massive company at this point and their massive spending power enables them to do it. DOJ sees this practice as anticompetitive as it practically locks out rival search engines and in turn, harms the competition. Witnesses at the trial included executives from Google Search competitors like Microsoft and DuckDuckGo. They testified that Google’s alleged monopoly in search prevented them from gaining the necessary search volume to become robust alternatives.
Google sees this as punishing a successful company, not protecting the competition
Google contends that the DOJ aims to punish and hinder it from competing for revenue share. It would ultimately harm competition and consumers. The company asserts that punishing a successful innovator harms competition and is contrary to antitrust law.
The case is expected to conclude with closing arguments in May, following a multi-week trial that ended in late 2023. Additionally, Google will face the DOJ later this year in another legal battle. It will be about the company’s advertising technology business and claims of illegal monopolization.
The dispute between Google and the DOJ underscores the ongoing debate over competition in the tech industry and the extent of Google’s dominance in search. The outcome of this Google vs DOJ antitrust trial could have significant implications for the future regulation of large tech companies and the competitiveness of the search market.