On Thursday, the U.S. government will present its antitrust case against Alphabet’s Google, bringing the trial to a close in which the industry leader in online searches is charged with breaching the law in order to maintain its dominance.
In a trial that began on September 12, the U.S. government has relentlessly pressed its claims that Google is a monopolist and has unlawfully misused its authority to benefit its financial line.
The Trump administration filed the first of five cases in an effort to limit the market dominance of internet giants. Biden’s antitrust enforcers followed up with a second action against Google and cases against Amazon and Apple. The second case, against Meta, was also launched during the Trump administration.
The judge in the non-jury trial will consider whether Google broke any laws, and if so, what penalty should be meted out.
Testimony was given by witnesses from Verizon, Samsung Electronics, the business that makes Android handsets, and Google itself regarding the corporation’s yearly payments ($26.3 billion in 2021) to maintain its dominant market position and make sure that its search is the default on smartphones and browsers.
In order to retain consumers’ loyalty, Google CEO Sundar Pichai recognized in his testimony the significance of having its search engine set as the default on phones, tablets, and laptops, stating, “We definitely see value.”
Google has responded that the government was incorrect to claim it broke the law in order to maintain its enormous market share, claiming that its search engine’s popularity was driven by its high quality and that consumers could simply switch if they were unhappy.
Furthermore, Google’s lawyers have maintained that being the default has little value and that customers will leave if they are dissatisfied, despite Google’s multibillion-dollar payments and Pichai’s remarks.
