The US Justice Department and Google's highly significant monopoly trial is reaching its conclusion this week, following a five-month break, where both parties will present their closing arguments starting Thursday, aiming to convince the federal judge why they should prevail in the case.
Google's Market Dominance Criticisms
Google is being accused of unlawfully exploiting its monopoly position to dominate the search engine industry, resulting in competitors being marginalized and customers receiving a subpar experience. However, Google has contended that its search engine's popularity stems from its superior quality rather than any dubious business practices.
US District Judge Amit Mehta posed numerous questions to the Justice Department and Alphabet's Google during the initial day of closing arguments in the government's antitrust case against the search engine giant.
Justice Department Accusing Google of Anticompetitive Behavior
During the trial, Microsoft admitted to not investing adequately in mobile search. Mehta stated that Google's earlier adoption of mobile technology was not anticompetitive but rather a result of its strategic foresight compared to Microsoft's actions.
The government concurred with the judge's observation but argued that a mistake by one competitor should not grant Google perpetual monopolization of the market. Mehta then directed challenging inquiries to Google's lawyer, probing whether any competitor could effectively challenge Google's dominance on mobile phones.
Google lawyer John Schmidtlein refuted allegations that the company had participated in anticompetitive behavior.
Trump Administration's Series of Lawsuits
The case, initiated by the Trump administration, marked the first of five lawsuits targeting tech giants' market dominance. The second lawsuit, against Meta, the parent company of Facebook, was also filed during the Trump administration. Antitrust enforcers under President Biden have pursued a second case against Google, as well as cases against Amazon.com and Apple Inc.
In this trial without a jury, Mehta will assess whether Google violated the law and subsequently consider any necessary penalties anticipated later this year.
Google's Annual Revenue and Consumer Loyalty
Witnesses from Verizon, Android maker Samsung Electronics, and Google testified regarding the company's annual payments, which amounted to $26.3 billion in 2021, to secure Google's search engine as the default option on smartphones and browsers, thereby maintaining its dominant market share.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai acknowledged in his testimony the importance of making its search engine the default on phones, tablets, and laptops to keep users loyal, emphasizing the value of such a strategy.
In response, Google has contended that the government's accusation of breaking the law to maintain its significant market share is unfounded. It asserts that its search engine's popularity is due to its quality and that dissatisfied users have the option to switch easily. Despite Google's substantial payments and Pichai's statement, the company's lawyers have argued that being the default option holds limited value and that users will not remain loyal if dissatisfied.
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