Fierce Battle Between Both Sides from First Trial on the 12th
Largest Lawsuit Against Big Tech in 25 Years Draws Attention
The antitrust lawsuit trial, in which the U.S. government is legally disputing whether Google engaged in anticompetitive behavior during its rise to become the world's number one search engine, began on the 12th (local time). From the first day of the trial, both sides clashed head-on over the legality of Google's contracts to pre-install its search engine on devices such as smartphones and pay fees for this. Google's market share in the U.S. search engine market is 90%.
According to Bloomberg News, The New York Times (NYT), and others, at the trial held at the Washington District Court that day, Kenneth Dintzer, the attorney representing the U.S. government, said, "This case is about the future of the internet and whether Google's search engine will face meaningful competition," adding, "Evidence will show that Google demanded exclusive default rights to block competitors."
The Department of Justice and state governments argue that Google illegally maintained its monopoly by paying smartphone manufacturers and telecom companies in exchange for setting Google as the default search engine on smartphones and web browsers. Attorney Dintzer emphasized, "Google pays billions of dollars to be the default search engine," and "For the past 12 years, Google has abused its monopoly in general search." He further claimed that Google "weaponized" the default search engine setting contracts to block competitors.
The government side cited Apple as a representative example. They argue that Google exerted dominance by having its search engine pre-installed as the default on Apple's iPhone and MacBook. Attorney Dintzer said, "When Apple first allowed Google to be the search engine on Safari in 2002, no money or exclusivity was required," but "three years later, Google approached Apple with a revenue-sharing agreement proposal."
He added that when Apple proposed in 2007 to offer a choice screen allowing users to select between Google and Yahoo, Google pressured via email, saying, "If we are not placed as the default search engine, there will be no revenue sharing," calling it "monopolist's tyranny." The government estimates that Google paid Apple between $4 billion and $7 billion through 2020 for default search engine settings.
In response to these claims, Google's representative attorney John Schmidlin countered, "(The payments) are compensation to ensure partners can timely update security and receive software maintenance." He also argued, "Today, users have more search options and various ways to access information online than ever before," and "With just a few clicks in the browser, users can replace Google apps or use alternative search engines."
The trial will proceed in two phases over up to 10 weeks. First, the court will determine whether Google violated antitrust laws, and if found guilty, the court will decide the best remedy. In such a case, the court may order Google to cease the illegal practices or mandate asset divestiture.
Currently, the trial is expected to start on this day and conclude by mid-November, but regardless of the outcome, both sides are expected to appeal, so a final conclusion may take years.
This lawsuit is notable as the largest antitrust case against big tech in 25 years since the U.S. government filed a suit against Microsoft (MS) for dominating the browser market with the Windows operating system. During the trial, Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google's parent company Alphabet; Tim Cook, Apple CEO; Satya Nadella, MS CEO; and Eddy Cue, Apple Senior Vice President, are expected to testify as witnesses.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
