“It’s about the future of the Internet”
Mammoth lawsuit against Google – there is even a threat of break-up
September 12, 2023, 9:19 p.m
In the largest tech trial in the USA in 25 years, Google is accused of discriminating against competitors. The company defends itself – but still has to fear conviction. In the worst case scenario, the punishment could be drastic.
Internet giant in court: A mammoth trial against Google has begun in Washington over allegations of creating a monopoly on search engines. The US Department of Justice accuses the Californian company of having achieved its dominant market position through illegal means and thus violating competition law.
With exclusive contracts worth billions with cell phone manufacturers such as Apple and Samsung and with web browsers, Google is said to have ensured that its search engine appears as the default setting – and that competitors have no chance. Other search engines such as Bing from Microsoft or DuckDuckGo were affected. “This case is about the future of the Internet and whether Google will ever face serious competition in (Internet) searches,” Justice Department representative Kenneth Dintzer said in court. Dozens of US states have also joined the Justice Department’s lawsuit.
Google, which controls around 90 percent of the Internet search engine market, rejects the allegations. The company argues that the success of the search engine is due to the fact that it is better than the competition. The trial in federal court in Washington is scheduled to last ten weeks and more than 100 witnesses are expected to testify. It will likely be months before federal judge Amit P. Mehta makes a ruling. If Mehta finds it proven that Google has violated competition law, he could order a series of measures – up to and including a split-up of the Google business.
Biggest tech trial in 25 years
The trial is the largest of its kind against a technology company in the US since a trial against software developer Microsoft 25 years ago. The 1998 trial was about the dominant market position of Microsoft’s Windows operating system. The legal disputes ended in 2001 with a settlement between the Justice Department and Microsoft, which prohibited the software giant from certain business practices.
The lawsuit against Google dates back to 2020, during the presidency of Republican Donald Trump. The government of Trump’s successor Joe Biden has also targeted large technology companies. The Justice Department sued Google in January over allegations of antitrust violations in online advertising. In the USA, the market power of Internet giants such as Google, Facebook and Amazon has been viewed with increasing suspicion for years.