Lawyers have made opening arguments in a landmark antitrust case against search engine Google, which could test the limits of corporate power in the United States.
On Tuesday, in a packed federal courthouse in Washington, DC., the U.S. Department of Justice argued that Google used its resources and influence to suppress competition and maintain its dominance as the most popular search engine. Google counters that internet users rely on search engines for its quality.
“Google pays more than $10 billion a year for these privileged positions,” said Kenneth Dintzer, the Justice Department’s chief litigator.
“Google’s contracts ensure that rivals can’t match search quality ad monetization, especially on phone,” he added. “Through this feedback loop, this wheel has been turning for over 12 years. It always turns to Google’s advantage.”
The opening statements marked the beginning of one of the most consequential antitrust cases in decades
Critics have long raised concerns about monopolies in the tech industry, where a handful of giant companies — including Google’s parent company Alphabet — control much of the market, their influence extending from popular platforms to data acquisition and devices.
Google alone, for example, commands about 90 percent of the search engine market.
President Joe Biden’s administration, however, has taken a more hostile stance on antitrust, announcing tougher rules for mergers between tech companies in July.
The current case, which began nearly three years ago under former President Donald Trump’s administration, represents the most ambitious government effort yet to tackle alleged cutting-edge technology monopolies.
The arguments will run for 10 weeks, with top executives from companies such as Google and Apple expected to testify. Judge Amit Mehta is unlikely to issue a decision until next year, and a ruling against Google would mean another trial to evaluate options for reining in the company.
On Tuesday, Google’s lawyer, John Schmidtlein, said customers who want to switch to a different search engine can do so with “a few simple clicks.” But, he argued, users continue to use Google because of its convenience and power.
“Users today have more search options and more ways to access information online than ever before,” Schmittlin told the court in his opening argument.
The Justice Department’s legal team, meanwhile, has alleged that the company used that considerable height to bend other companies for its will.
Alphabet, Google’s parent company, has 182,000 employees and is worth about $1.7 trillion.
Dintzer, arguing for the Justice Department, said Alphabet entered into a revenue-sharing agreement with Apple stipulating that Google would become the default search engine on every Apple device.
“This is not a discussion,” Dintzer said. “This is Google saying: take it or leave it.”
