Google vs. the US in the largest antitrust case in decades

The US Department of Justice accuses Google of paying billions of dollars a year to device makers such as Apple, wireless companies such as AT&T, and browser makers such as Mozilla to keep Google's search engine at the top.

There has been no such process for 22 years

Google, an Alphabet Inc. company, is paying more than $10 billion a year to maintain its position as the default search engine on web browsers and mobile devices, stifling competition, the U.S. Department of Justice said Tuesday at the start of a high-profile antitrust trial in Washington.

"This case is about the future of the Internet and whether Google Search will ever face significant competition." said Kenneth Dintzer, a government lawyer, in his opening statement.

“The evidence will show that they requested default exclusivity in order to block rivals.” Dintzer said Google has become a monopoly since at least 20110 and now controls more than 89% of the online search market.

“The company pays billions for defaults because it is extremely powerful.” - He said. “For the last 12 years, Google has been abusing its general search monopoly.”

The monopolization lawsuit is the first in more than two decades in which the federal government has fought a U.S. technology company.

Alphabet's federal antitrust lawsuit is the most significant since its 2001 antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft.

The Justice Department and 52 attorneys general from U.S. states and territories maintain that Google unlawfully maintained its monopoly by paying billions to technology rivals, smartphone makers and wireless service providers in exchange for making it a pre-selected or default option on cell phones and web browsers.

Google's lawyers deny the government's claims

In its defense, Google says it faces real competition, citing Microsoft's Bing search engine as one of its rivals. The company claims its position is due to continuous innovation and product improvements.

“Armed” search

Dintzer stated that Google "defended" the use of default contracts to discourage competitors and used its market power by preventing Apple from using better-than-Google options as the default browser on its computers, phones and other devices.

Apple Lossless Audio CODEC (ALAC), first licensed it to Google for its Safari search engine in 2002, and it didn't require any money or exclusivity. Three years later, Google approached Apple with a revenue-sharing agreement.

According to Dintzer, in 2007 Apple wanted to offer a selection screen that would allow users to choose between Google and Yahoo. However, Google responded via email: "No default placement, no revenue share," he said.

“This is bending monopoly policy.” – said Dintzer, adding that Apple had no choice but to bow to Google.

Dintzer said that by 2020, Google had paid Apple between $4 billion and $7 billion for its Safari default.

When will the verdict in the giant's case be announced?

The trial is expected to take several months and a verdict may not be announced until next year.

Top executives from Google and its parent company Alphabet Inc., as well as representatives from other powerful technology companies, will testify. They are likely to include Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, who replaced Google co-founder Larry Page four years ago. Court documents also indicate that Eddy Cue, a high-ranking Apple executive, may be summoned to the hearing.

The Justice Department filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google nearly three years ago during the Trump administration, accusing the company of using its dominance in online search engines to gain an unfair advantage over competitors.

Today, Google's parent company, Alphabet, is worth $1,7 trillion and employs 182 people, with most of the money coming from $000 billion in annual advertising sales flowing through a network of digital services powered by the search engine that generates billions of search queries a day.