US v Google: Six Things To Know as the Massive Antitrust Trial Begins

On Tuesday, the U.S.'s biggest antitrust trial in decades began. On one side is the Department of Justice and numerous attorneys general representing American states. On the other is Google, the once-plucky tech upstart that is now valued at over $1 trillion and has a product so popular it has become a verb.

"This case is about the future of the internet and whether Google’s search engine will ever face meaningful competition," Kenneth Dintzer, a government lawyer, said in his opening statement, according to reports. "The evidence will show they demanded default exclusivity to block rivals."

At the heart of the matter is the allegation that Google has a monopoly over search and uses its power to maintain that dominance, no matter what. But while the case could ultimately change how users find information on the internet, it has other implications that go beyond typing a query into a search bar and hoping for an answer.

Ultimately, Google's search dominance also gives it access to perhaps the most comprehensive set of information online — and information matters for another, technology that is emerging now and which Google has ambitions to drive forward: Artificial intelligence.

As the case begins, here are six things you need to know:

The Justice Department's case centers on modern technology, but the complaint alleges Google's search product violates the Sherman Act, which passed in 1890. The law states that "Every contract, combination in the form of trust or otherwise, or conspiracy, in restraint of trade or commerce among the several States, or with foreign nations, is hereby declared to be illegal." Possible punishments for violations include fines of up to $100 million for corporations or $1 million for an individual, and potential prison sentences of up to 10 years. In some cases, the damages can amount to twice whatever amount conspirators gained from illegal acts, or twice whatever victims lost if that amount exceeds $100 million. 

The DOJ's original complaint, filed in October 2020, alleges that Google is responsible for around 90% of Internet search traffic in the U.S. and that it has maintained that dominance through several mechanisms that go beyond just being comprehensive. These include entering into extremely lucrative agreements with companies like Apple to make Google the default search engine on their products.

A big part of the complaint deals with how people perform Internet searches on their phones. For example, if a person has an iPhone with Safari, Apple's internet browser, they can type a query into Safari and Google will answer it automatically. The DOJ alleges that Google has made business agreements with smartphone makers "that force preinstallation of its search applications in prime locations on mobile devices and make them undeletable, regardless of consumer preference." For its part, Google counters that smartphone users can change the default search on their phone. In opening arguments, the DOJ said Google pays $10 billion a year to be the default on other companies' web browsers and products.

In the complaint, the DOJ references two other landmark cases: a 1974 antitrust suit against AT&T that ended with the company spinning off roughly two-thirds of its business into separate entities, and a 1998 case against Microsoft to do with the company’s practice of bundling its Internet Explorer browser with its Windows operating system. In that case, a judge ruled the company must be broken up to ensure competitiveness, but the ruling was ultimately overturned on appeal. 

On Friday, Kent Walker, president of Global Affairs for Google parent company Alphabet, defended the company in a blog post on its website. Walker insisted that people use Google because its helpful, and not because it stifles competition. If users want to access alternative search methods they are able to do so: They can use other search engines, like Microsoft's Bing, or they can search on platforms like TikTok or Reddit, or ask an AI bot like ChatGPT for answers. "People don't use Google because they have to — they use it because they want to," Walker wrote. The blog also implies that search isn't just on search engines — it also takes place on platforms, widening Google's competitive landscape.

Walker added that while the agreements make Google the default, they aren’t exclusive: consumers are able to download and install other browsers onto their iPhones, for instance. “We’re proud that browser makers opt to show Google Search based on the quality of our products,” wrote Walker. “Apple’s leaders have said they choose Google because it’s ‘the best.’”

In a policy brief issued earlier this year, the American Economic Liberties Project warned that "how the courts rule could also determine how generative artificial intelligence develops." While the rise of programs like OpenAI’s ChatGPT may seem like a disruptor that can shake Google’s stranglehold on the search market, the AELP pointed out that despite launching a highly touted AI component, Microsoft’s Bing search engine has hardly made a dent, with just 3% of the market share. 

The AELP noted that Google has already made moves to secure its position in a possible AI-dominated future. The company has begun to include responses generated by its Bard program at the top of search results. Other companies have begun taking steps to secure their exclusive access to data to better train their own AIs — for instance, Elon Musk banned the practice for other companies on his X platform, just as he launched his xAI venture. With Google’s dominance of search, there is a real concern that the company with the best access to data could bully competitors who lack the data to train their AI models on the same level.