Google has questioned the motivations of the US Justice Department's top antitrust official in a filing to a district court, arguing that his past clients create an ethical conflict and raise doubts about the government's lawsuit against the tech giant.
Three senior Apple executives have been denied their bid to avoid testifying as witnesses in the U.S. Justice Department's trial against Google for alleged search power abuse.
The US Justice Department has started a 10-week trial against Google, accusing the company of monopolistic practices in dominating the search engine market through its business partnerships, including with Apple, to ensure its search engine is the default on mobile devices.
Google previewed its defense against the U.S. government's charges of illegal monopolization, claiming that its distribution agreements do not harm competition and that consumers have the ability to easily change search engine defaults.
Google will face a high-stakes antitrust trial brought by the US government and multiple states, which could have significant implications for the tech giant's dominant search business.
Google faces a trial over allegations of over-reaching its power on online search, marking a significant milestone in the influence of Big Tech; global fuel supply is strained by record-breaking heat, the possibility of a recession is seen as less likely, the G20 summit results in compromise language on Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the US Space Force launches early warning satellites to track potential threats from China or Russia, workplace diversity efforts may be affected by the Supreme Court's ruling against affirmative action, frugality pays off for Republican presidential candidates Nikki Haley and Mike Pence, Apple's product unveiling includes the iPhone 15 and new smartwatches, bond traders anticipate further interest-rate hikes by the Federal Reserve, and US retail workers face challenges including low pay and high turnover.
The landmark antitrust trial against Google marks a broader reconsideration of the notion that the internet is inherently open and self-regulating, as regulators seek to prevent dominant technology companies from stifling innovation in emerging fields such as artificial intelligence.
The government's antitrust case against Google, which parallels the landmark case against Microsoft 25 years ago, lacks the same cultural impact despite similar accusations of unfair market dominance.
The trial against Google, initiated by the Department of Justice (DOJ), will test the Biden administration's efforts to rein in the power of tech giants and curb Google's dominance in online search, which could have broad implications for other investigations into companies like Amazon and Apple.
The biggest tech monopoly trial in decades, where the US Department of Justice and state attorneys general will argue that Google violated anti-monopoly law through exclusive agreements, begins on Tuesday.
Google maintains a dominant position in the global search engine market with a 90.7% market share, while its competitors like Bing and Yahoo lag far behind, according to data from Similarweb. However, Google is currently facing a civil antitrust lawsuit by the U.S. Justice Department for alleged anticompetitive practices. Bing, despite its AI-powered version, has not made significant progress in challenging Google's dominance.
Google's antitrust trial against the Department of Justice centers around claims that Microsoft's search tool Bing failed due to lack of investment and innovation, rather than Google's anticompetitive behavior.
The Justice Department's antitrust trial against Google began with claims that the company pursued agreements to be the default search engine on mobile devices, while Google argued that its search engine's quality was the primary reason for such agreements.
Google has made a final attempt to overturn a €2.42 billion ($2.6 billion) EU antitrust fine for market abuse related to its shopping service, arguing that regulators failed to prove its practices were anti-competitive.
Google allegedly paid billions of dollars to key companies to maintain its search engine as the default on computers and mobile devices, making it difficult for smaller rival DuckDuckGo to grow its market share, according to testimony by DuckDuckGo CEO Gabriel Weinberg at a trial investigating alleged antitrust violations by Google.
The CEO of DuckDuckGo testifies in the antitrust trial against Google, describing the obstacles faced by competitors in effectively competing with the search giant due to its monopoly and deals to make its search engine the default on browsers and platforms.
