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.
Apple executives Eddy Cue, John Giannandrea, and Adrian Perica will testify in an antitrust investigation into Google's alleged abuse of its search engine dominance, despite Apple's argument that it would be burdensome; Apple's multi-billion dollar deal with Google is a key aspect of the case.
Google has reached a settlement in a long-running antitrust case with attorneys general in 36 states and Washington, D.C., over its mobile app store policies, ahead of the expected trial in November.
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 has reached an agreement in principle with US states to settle an antitrust lawsuit over its alleged monopolistic practices in the Google Play Store, which accused the company of inflating prices for paid apps and in-app purchases in the Android app market.
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 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.
The Justice Department argued in an antitrust trial that Google abused its monopoly power to eliminate competition and prioritized its own financial gain over privacy concerns.
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 landmark anti-monopoly trial against Google continues with tensions over confidentiality restrictions and accusations of rule violations.
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.
Apple has objected to claims made in an antitrust case against Google, disputing the mention of specific monetary figures regarding payments from Google to Apple to be the default search engine on Apple devices.
The focus of the Google antitrust trial is on the future, as the verdict will establish the rules for tech competition and shape the development of commercialized artificial intelligence and other new technologies.
The U.S. Justice Department objects to excluding the public from court discussions on Google's pricing for online advertising, arguing that it is essential information in the antitrust case against the tech giant.
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.
The Department of Justice has filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google, alleging that the company's billion-dollar deals to be the default search engine on smartphones have created a monopoly, and if the trial is successful, Google may be forced to break up its various businesses.
Apple senior vice president Eddy Cue is expected to testify in court that Apple chose Google as the default search engine on the iPhone because it was the best product and that Apple has revenue-sharing agreements with other search engines, shedding light on Google's licensing agreements and the accusation of monopolizing online search.
Efforts to limit transparency and seal testimony in the federal antitrust case against Google have made it one of the most secretive trials of the past few decades, with more than half of the trial's testimony being given behind closed doors and major companies like Apple and Microsoft also pushing for secrecy.
A Google executive compared the addictive nature of the company's search engine to that of cigarettes or drugs, as revealed in meeting notes that were initially hidden from the public in the Google search antitrust trial.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella testified in an antitrust trial that Google's dominant search engine position is due to default deals with smartphone makers, arguing that user choice is "completely bogus" and defaults are the key factor in search behavior.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella testified during the US government's antitrust trial against Google, warning of a "nightmare" scenario for the internet if Google's dominance in online search continues, as it could give Google an unassailable advantage in artificial intelligence (AI) due to the vast amount of search data it collects, threatening to further entrench its power.
Apple has the potential to compete with Google in building a search engine, as it has a strong search team and has developed a next-generation search engine called "Pegasus," but currently, Apple benefits from the $15 billion annual payment it receives from Google to keep Google Search as the default on Safari.
Apple considered buying or investing in the Bing search engine in 2018 as an alternative to Google for Siri and other features, according to testimony from Apple's head of machine learning, John Giannandrea, in the Department of Justice's antitrust case against Google. However, the deal with Microsoft did not go forward, and Apple ultimately chose to continue its partnership with Google.
The trial for Epic's antitrust lawsuit against Google, which accuses Google of anticompetitive practices in its Google Play store, is set to begin on November 6th, with a list of 53 potential witnesses including executives from both companies.
