Google defends itself in once-in-a-generation US antitrust trial
- The US government says Google paid US$10 billion annually to the likes of AT&T, Apple and Mozilla to be the default search engine
- Google’s lawyer argues that when users wanted to search, they turned to Google no matter the default, according to a Microsoft document
The Justice Department is arguing in a trial that began on Tuesday that the Alphabet unit sought agreements with mobile carriers to win powerful default positions on smartphones to dominate search. The government argues that this antitrust trial, the biggest in decades, will determine the future of the internet.
The government wrapped up questioning of Antonio Rangel, who teaches behavioural biology at the California Institute of Technology, on Thursday. Rangel argued that consumers were likely to stick with browsers on computers and mobile phones that were pre-installed as the default application.
John Schmidtlein, a lawyer for Google, during cross-examination of Rangel, pointed to instances where a significant number of user search queries went to Google even when another search engine was the default.
Schmidtlein also showed an internal Microsoft document from several years ago about search use by people who carried a BlackBerry, an early smart device. Verizon BlackBerries had Bing as the default, AT&T and T-Mobile BlackBerries had Yahoo, while Sprint had Google as the default, the document showed.
When users wanted to search, they turned to Google no matter the default, the document showed. Verizon BlackBerries with Bing as the default still showed 91 per cent of searches were on Google.
Google says the government is wrong to assert that Google broke the law to hold onto its massive market share. It argues that its search engine is wildly popular because of its quality, and that any payments to wireless companies or others were fair compensation for partners.
China’s Big Tech antitrust challenges aren’t the same as those in the US
The fight has major implications for Big Tech, which has been accused of buying or strangling small rivals but has defended itself by emphasising that its services are free, as in the case of Google, or inexpensive, as in the case of Amazon.com.
The government alleges Google’s clout in search has helped it build monopolies in some aspects of online advertising, which accounted for more than three-quarters of Google’s revenue in 2022, financial statements showed.
The government has also alleged that Google illegally took steps to protect communications about the payments.
If Google is found to have broken the law, US District Judge Amit Mehta, who is deciding the case, will then decide how to resolve it. He may order Google to stop practices he has found to be illegal or to sell assets.
Previous major antitrust trials include Microsoft, filed in 1998, and AT&T, filed in 1974. The AT&T break-up in 1982 is credited with paving the way for the modern mobile phone industry, while the fight with Microsoft is credited with opening space for Google and others on the internet.
