Google must face questions from a judge who asks the court to dismiss a US antitrust lawsuit

Diane Bartz

WASHINGTON (Reuters): Google faced sharp questions from a judge on Thursday, saying the U.S. Justice Department’s allegations that it broke antitrust law to build and maintain search engine dominance are wrong and that the agency’s lawsuit should be thrown out.

The government, which filed the lawsuit in the waning days of the Trump administration, argued that Alphabet-owned Google was operating illegally by paying billions of dollars each year to smartphone makers such as Apple, LG, Motorola and Samsung, carriers such as Verizon and browsers such as Mozilla to be default search engine for its customers.

Judge Amit Mehta actively questioned Google lawyer John Schmiddlein. Mehta pressed him on whether search engine dominance meant Google’s search engine would grow faster than its competitors, for example. He also asked whether the transactions gave the company an “anti-competitive” advantage.

Google’s Schmiddlein responded: “It’s never illegal to offer a great product and win customers on its merits.”

The judge also asked Schmiddlein why the company was paying to be the default search engine on devices.

Schmiddlein responded that the goal was to expose people to Google products and make them easier for them to use. “There is nothing wrong or wicked about it,” he said.

Kenneth Dintzer of the Justice Department argued that because of its enormous market share, Google could not legally make the same deals that a weaker search company could.

In particular, he argued, Google should not have entered into agreements with Apple that require Google to be the default search engine.

LOSS OF INNOVATION?

In the lawsuit, Google argued that the disputed payments constituted legal revenue-sharing agreements, not illegal efforts to exclude competitors.

The government also argued that Google’s dominance likely meant a loss of innovation, prompting Mehta to highlight the rise of ChatGPT.

Dintzer responded that it was difficult to predict what technological advances might have occurred without Google’s dominance.

The decision on summary judgment will be made by Mehta of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The case is scheduled to go to court in September.

Google’s motion is the Internet company’s latest attempt to end several costly and time-consuming lawsuits by state and federal governments aimed at limiting its market power.

The Justice Department sued Google in 2020, accusing the $1 trillion company of illegally using its market power to disable rivals in the biggest challenge to Big Tech’s power and influence since it sued Microsoft Corp in 1998. The settlement left the company intact , even though the decision to keep Microsoft out left room for Google, founded in 1998, and others to expand.

Since this lawsuit was filed, Google has received other antitrust complaints. In January, the Justice Department filed a second lawsuit accusing the company of abusing its dominant position in the digital advertising industry.

In 2020, a group of states led by Texas also sued ad tech, while states led by Utah filed a lawsuit in 2021 alleging that the company broke antitrust law by operating its toy store.

(Reporting by Diane Bartz; Editing by Aurora Ellis)