Google Turns to a Steady Old Hand to Fight Antitrust Charges
Summary
They are preparing to face off next week in federal court against the Justice Department and a collection of states, which claim the tech giant illegally abused its monopoly power to keep its search engine on top. The Justice Department has argued that Google illegally used agreements with phone makers like Apple and Samsung, as well as internet browsers like Mozilla, to be the default search engine for their users, preventing smaller rivals from getting access to that business. The court fight — the most important antitrust case since the Justice Department took on Microsoft 25 years ago — strikes at the heart of Alphabet’s $1.7 trillion empire and could strip power and influence away from the world’s most successful internet company. The company contends that it faces stiff competition from a number of alternative services where consumers can find products and information online, including Amazon and TikTok. The company will also point out that when users open a Safari browser on an iPhone, they can see quick links to a variety of other services besides Google, including Microsoft’s Bing search engine and Wikipedia.