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.
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 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.
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 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.
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.
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.
Big tech firms, including Google and Microsoft, are engaged in a competition to acquire content and data for training AI models, according to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, who testified in an antitrust trial against Google and highlighted the race for content among tech firms. Microsoft has committed to assuming copyright liability for users of its AI-powered Copilot, addressing concerns about the use of copyrighted materials in training AI models.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella testified that Apple's selection of its default search engine holds significant influence, revealing that Microsoft was willing to obscure its search engine brand to unseat Google as Apple's default search engine.
Apple considered acquiring Microsoft's search engine Bing as a means to challenge Google in the search sector, but ultimately decided to continue their revenue-sharing agreement with Google, according to unsealed testimony in the landmark antitrust trial between the Justice Department and Google.
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.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has been credited for transforming the company by being open to collaboration with competitors like Apple, but remains at odds with Google's parent company Alphabet as he testified against them in an antitrust lawsuit. He also called out Alphabet for selling a false narrative about OEM partners having a choice when in reality they don't, citing the power Google holds with its Google Play platform.
The US Federal Trade Commission is investigating Amazon and Google for alleged monopolistic practices, with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella testifying against Google's attempts to monopolize the search market by paying to make its search engine the default choice for Apple and Android.
The U.S. Department of Justice is leading a major antitrust trial against Google, accusing the search engine company of using illegal methods to crush competition and maintain an unfair advantage; if ruled in favor of the government, the trial could result in new online search possibilities for users and businesses and potentially change the way Google operates in the future.
Google is accused of illegally protecting a monopoly in online search through multibillion-dollar contracts and default search engine agreements, harming consumers and advertisers, as the government wraps up its case in a landmark monopoly trial.
The U.S. v. Google antitrust trial, which is intended to examine whether Google's business practices are illegal, has been plagued by secrecy and limited public access, with documents redacted and key testimonies held behind closed doors.
Google executive Prabhakar Raghavan testified at the antitrust trial, highlighting the challenges the search and advertising giant faces from smaller rivals and its efforts to avoid losing relevance in the market.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai will testify in an antitrust hearing regarding Google's dominance in search and search advertising, with questions expected on the company's investments and practices to stay competitive.
