Google Stands Firm on ‘Improved’ Search Offering as Antitrust Trial Concludes
Google makes its final stand against a landmark initiative by the US Department of Justice aimed at loosening the tech giant’s control over online search, as the most significant antitrust trial in 25 years concludes in Washington.
In a federal court in Washington, closing arguments commenced on Thursday following a 10-week trial wherein the DoJ accused Alphabet, Google’s parent company, of stifling search competitors through multi-billion-dollar annual payments for anti-competitive agreements with wireless carriers, browser developers, and device manufacturers.
During Thursday’s proceedings, John Schmidtlein, a lawyer from Williams & Connolly representing Google, countered allegations of impeding rivals’ access to online search and contended that users had ample alternatives.
Unsealed court documents this week disclosed that Alphabet disbursed $20 billion to Apple in 2022 alone to secure its position as the default search engine for iPhones and Safari browsers on other Apple devices.
“Google securing agreements due to its superior product is not detrimental to the competitive landscape, even if it enables the enhancement of its product through scale,” Schmidtlein asserted before the court.”
Closing arguments are anticipated to conclude by Friday, likely before the year’s end. Should Google be found liable, subsequent proceedings will determine appropriate sanctions.
In addition to the government’s legal actions, Google has encountered civil challenges. In a case brought by Epic Games against its Android app store late last year, Google suffered defeat. A federal jury determined that Google stifled competition by striking agreements with smartphone manufacturers, networks, and game developers to suppress alternatives to its Play Store, subsequently leveraging its position to levy a 30 percent commission on sales. The remedy for this situation is yet to be determined.
