The hearing of the biggest “antitrust” case of the last 25 years, filed by the US Department of Justice against Google on the grounds that it was engaging in monopolization, started yesterday.
In his opening statement, Department of Justice Attorney Kenneth Dintzer stated that the case in question is about the future of the internet and whether Google’s search engine will face meaningful competition.
ACCUSATION AGAINST GOOGLE “IT PAYS MORE THAN 10 BILLION DOLLARS A YEAR”
Claiming that Google maintains its monopoly by spending billions of dollars a year to become the default search engine in web browsers, Dintzer said, “Google pays more than 10 billion dollars a year for these privileged positions.” he said.
Dintzer stated that Google collects data as much as the number of searches it processes, and that it can use this data to improve future searches and gain a greater advantage over its competitors.
GOOGLE DENIES ALLEGATIONS THAT IT USED ITS MARKET POWER TO ILLEGALLY HINDER ITS COMPETITORS
John Schmidtlein, one of Google’s lawyers, said that companies choose Google as the default search engine for their browsers and smartphones because it is “the best”, and that this is not due to lack of competition.
Schmidtlein stated that today users have more search options and ways to access online information than ever before, and that consumers use Google “not because they have to, but because it adds value to them.”
Rejecting allegations that Google is using its market power to illegally block its competitors, Schmidtlein noted that users have options and it is easy to switch.
HEARINGS WILL CONTINUE FOR 10 WEEKS
As part of the case, federal lawyers and state attorneys general will spend 10 weeks trying to prove that Google tilted the market in its favor by “locking the search engine as the default option on many devices.”
Washington District Judge Amit Mehta, who is presiding over the case, is not expected to issue a ruling until early next year.
Senior executives from Google’s parent company Alphabet, as well as executives from other technology companies, are expected to testify. Among those expected to testify is Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai.
It is noted that the case in question is the largest “antitrust” case of the last quarter century, after the case filed against Microsoft in the USA in 1998.
“ANTITRUST” CASE AGAINST GOOGLE
In the statement made on January 24, the US Department of Justice announced that an “antitrust” lawsuit was filed against Google in the District Court of the Eastern District of Virginia with the attorneys general of the states of California, Colorado, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Tennessee and Virginia.
In the statement, which stated that the company monopolized many digital advertising technology products, it was claimed that Google used anti-competitive, exclusionary and illegal methods to eliminate or seriously reduce any threats to its dominance in the industry.
It was stated in the statement that in the last 15 years, Google has neutralized or eliminated its advertising technology competitors through acquisitions, and that the company used its dominance in the digital advertising market to force more publishers and advertisers to use its products and prevented the use of rival products.
In the statement, it was stated that Google strengthened its dominance in the sector and the content of the company’s anti-competitive behavior was also included.
The US Department of Justice filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google for monopolizing search and search advertising in 2020. (AA)