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Tech giant on trial Googleconvicted by the US government for alleged monopolistic practicewill begin on Tuesday, September 12, in Washington and represents the biggest legal threat the company
Tech giant on trial Googleconvicted by the US government for alleged monopolistic practicewill begin on Tuesday, September 12, in Washington and represents the biggest legal threat the company has ever faced.
The trial will take place in the District Court of Columbia and is expected to lasts about ten weekswhich, through the testimony of senior technology executives, engineers, economists and scientists, will try to reveal how an American company became leader of Internet search engines.
He Ministry of Justice spent three years building a case that began when Republican Donald Trump was president (2017-2021) and which Democrat Joe Biden inherited when he took office in 2021.
To protect itself, the tech company hired hundreds of people, including three powerful law firms and has spent millions of dollars on legal fees and lobbying, according to US media such as New York Times.
According to the Ministry of Justice, Google illegally suppressed competitors paying companies to make their search engine the default on their devices and platforms, including Apple, so they can choose their system in iPhone.
Photo: Reuters
Thus, the government argues in the lawsuit, which was joined by a coalition of 38 state attorneys general, Google would maintain a monopoly through these agreements, making it more difficult for consumers to use other search engines.
Data from data analytics company Likeweb shows that Google has 90% of the search engine market in the US and 91% worldwide.
“People use Google because they want to”
However, Google has assured that its agreements with Apple and others were not exclusive, and that consumers could easily change the default settings of their devices to select alternative motors.
In a statement from global affairs chief Kent Walker, Google argued that the lawsuit is “seriously flawed” and that the trial will show that search agreements “reflect the choices of browsers and device manufacturers based on quality” of service and consumer preferences.
“Making it easier for people to get the products they want benefits consumers and supports American antitrust legislation. In short, people use Google not because they have to, but because they want to,” says Walker, who as general counsel oversees the company’s defense.
He Federal Judge Amit P. Mehta, who was appointed to the position in 2014 by President Barack Obama (2009-2017), will be the one who will decide the verdict in this non-jury trial.
In more than three years of previous hearings, he has not expressed an opinion on the case, although at trial last month he scaled back the claim but retained the core argument that Google maintained its monopoly in search through agreements with manufacturers.
For the prosecution, Jonathan Kanter, deputy attorney general for antitrust at the Justice Department, is part of a group of progressive critics of big tech companies whom Biden has appointed to the government’s top antitrust positions.
Representing the government will be Kenneth Dintzer, deputy director of the Justice Department’s civil division, who will give opening remarks Tuesday and who was also assigned to the case during the Trump administration.
Photo: Reuters
Among their arguments is a complaint that Google destroyed instant messages, “depriving” the department of “a rich source of candid discussions among Google executives, including potential witnesses in the lawsuit.”
In the past, Dintzer has worked on antitrust cases, including a Justice Department lawsuit to block a proposed merger. AT&T with T-Mobile in 2011.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai, as well as executives from Apple and other tech companies, are likely to be called as witnesses.
Consequences of the verdict
According to the US press, this is the first trial of a federal government monopoly in the modern Internet era, a time when big technology companies have become opinion leaders in areas ranging from information to entertainment.
The Last Major Monopoly Case the great technology was Microsoft technology in 1998. It included John Schmidtlein, co-president of Williams & Connolly, a law firm specializing in civil and criminal antitrust litigation, who has now been hired by Google to lead the defense.
If the court rules against Google, the company faces financial sanctions or demands for changes in the company.
EFE
Source: Aristegui Noticias
As an experienced journalist and author, Mary has been reporting on the latest news and trends for over 5 years. With a passion for uncovering the stories behind the headlines, Mary has earned a reputation as a trusted voice in the world of journalism. Her writing style is insightful, engaging and thought-provoking, as she takes a deep dive into the most pressing issues of our time.
