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 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.
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 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'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.
Apple executive Eddy Cue testified in the US v. Google antitrust trial, stating that Apple believed in protecting user privacy and that Google was the best search engine option, while the Justice Department questioned whether Apple's choice was based on economics or the best product.
Amazon and Google, both facing antitrust lawsuits, could potentially be broken up, leading to a potential increase in shareholder profits, as Amazon's Amazon Web Services (AWS) could be valued independently, while a breakup of Alphabet could allow investors to put a price on its subsidiary, YouTube.
Microsoft's Bing search engine has always been just a bargaining chip for Apple in its search-engine wars with Google, according to a Microsoft executive, who also revealed that Microsoft has been trying for years to convince Apple to switch to Bing as the default search engine for iPhones.
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.
Google is aggressively positioning itself as a leader in AI but risks focusing too much on AI technology at the expense of useful features that customers actually want.
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.
Google's payment to Apple for maintaining its position as the default search engine on iOS devices is estimated to be between $18 billion and $20 billion per year, according to financial advisor Bernstein, with the deal accounting for 14-16% of Apple's annual operating profits; however, the ongoing antitrust trial against Google could put this agreement at risk.
The antitrust case against Google puts the annual payment it makes to Apple for being the default search engine at risk, which constitutes 14-16% of Apple's profits, but Bernstein analysts believe Apple has options to mitigate the potential impact, such as partnering with another search engine or launching its own.
Apple's long-standing and lucrative agreement with Google to have it as the default search engine on Safari across its products has prevented Apple from developing its own search product and solidifies Google's dominance in the search industry, according to evidence presented in the US v. Google antitrust trial.
Google pays Apple between $18 and $20 billion per year to be the default search engine on iPhones, representing roughly 15% of Apple's annual operating profits, and there is a possibility that federal courts could force Google to terminate its search deal with Apple as part of the Department of Justice's antitrust lawsuit against Google.
Multiple government legal actions, including antitrust suits by the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission, are targeting Silicon Valley giants like Google, Facebook, and Amazon over allegations of monopolistic practices and exploitation of independent sellers, with Amazon potentially facing real penalties for its control over the marketplace.
