© Reuters.
WASHINGTON – Google (NASDAQ:) is nearing the end of its defense in a high-stakes antitrust dispute with U.S. et al. The case against Google is expected to close after a final rebuttal by the government. The tech giant is battling allegations from the Justice Department and state attorneys general that it has a monopoly in the search and advertising markets.
During the trial, Google CEO Sundar Pichai insisted on the company’s practice of paying for default search engine status on Apple (NASDAQ:) devices and other technology platforms, revealing that Google shared 36% of search revenue from those deals with Apple. Kevin Murphy, an economist at Google, provided testimony supporting this claim.
Google’s defense also pointed to cases in which competition influenced market decisions, such as Mozilla’s temporary switch from Google to Yahoo in 2014 due to product quality issues, only to reverse in 2017 after a deterioration in Yahoo’s user experience Google to return.
Prabhakar Raghavan, head of search at Google, highlighted the company’s commitment to advancing technology through significant investments in research and development. This commitment was kept in contrast to Microsoft (NASDAQ:) CEO Satya Nadella’s vague answers regarding Microsoft’s investment in its own search engine Bing during cross-examination.
The government has accused Google of several anti-competitive behaviors, including delaying the adoption of generative AI technology until after OpenAI’s launch of ChatGPT and considering an incognito search engine that would not store user data – a move that could potentially cost the company billions in revenue could have cost. Additionally, the government alleged that Google manipulated ad prices during periods of declining revenue.
In response, Google pointed to its long history of fostering competition by introducing transformative products such as its search engine in 1998, the Chrome browser in 2008, and the Android operating system in 2008. The company also highlighted its competition with newer entrants like TikTok and Amazon (NASDAQ:), which have become alternative online sources of information.
The outcome of this landmark case rests with Justice Amit P. Mehta, who is expected to deliver a verdict next year. The decision is likely to have far-reaching implications for both Google and the broader tech industry as debates over antitrust laws and digital market dominance continue.
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Source : au.investing.com