The US Department of Justice told a federal judge that Alphabet’s Google annually pays billions of dollars to Apple, Samsung and others to unlawfully preserve its position as the number one search engine.
Department of Justice (DOJ) attorney Kenneth Dintzer did not reveal exactly how much Google pays to be the primary search engine on many US browsers and mobile phones, but he did call the amount “enormous”.
At a hearing in Washington on Thursday, Dintzer told judge Amit Mehta that Google invests billions in exclusivity, knowing they won’t be toppled. The hearing’s audience consisted of senior DOJ antitrust officials and Nebraska’s attorney general.
DOJ antitrust complaint
Google’s contracts are at the heart of the DOJ’s blockbuster antitrust complaint, which claims the firm violates antitrust laws in an attempt to protect its internet search monopoly. State attorney generals continue to pursue a rival antitrust case against the tech giant.
A formal trial isn’t likely to begin until next year, but Thursday’s session was the first serious session in the case. Multiple parties laid out their case against Google in a daylong hearing.
The antitrust complaint against Google was brought in during the last days of the Trump administration, and remains ongoing under President Joe Biden. It’s one of the federal government’s first big moves to limit the influence of internet titans.
How Google boxes in rivals
Dintzer centered his presentation on the technology of Google’s search engine and how its default arrangements have boxed in prospective rivals.
According to Dintzer, Google has dubious contracts with smartphone manufacturers like Apple, Samsung and Motorola, numerous browsers and top US telecom companies like AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile. The contracts allegedly ensure that Google’s search engine is configured as the default and comes preloaded on new phones.
Google’s contracts make it the “gateway” through which most people access webpages on the internet, allegedly allowing it to prevent competitors from attaining the size required to rival its search engine. In this way, the complainants said, the tech giant can deprive its rivals of the data needed to improve their search engines.
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