Google has disputed claims that it is the world’s largest search engine due to illegal activities, claiming that switching to another business requires “just four clicks.” A lawyer for the company made the remarks in court on Tuesday in Washington, DC, where it is being tried for monopoly status. The lawsuit is a crucial test of US authorities’ power over tech behemoths. According to prosecutors, the case is about “the future of the internet.”
The trial is scheduled to run 10 weeks and will contain testimony from Google CEO Sundar Pichai as well as Apple executives. The case will be decided by Judge Amit Mehta, who was appointed to the DC district court by former President Barack Obama. It is the largest for the business in 25 years. The government’s complaint focuses on billions of dollars paid by Google to Apple, Samsung, Mozilla, and others in exchange for being pre-installed as the default online search engine.
According to Technology News UK, Google routinely pays more than $10 billion per year for that permission, assuring its access to a continual influx of user data that has helped it maintain its market dominance.
“Are there any other channels of distribution? Alternative approaches to search distribution? Yeah… Are these as potent as the defaults? No, “Kenneth Dintzer, a lawyer for the Department of Justice, addressed the judge. “Google’s chequebook is the best testimonial to the value of defaults, your Honour.”
According to prosecutors, no payments were made when Apple first installed Google as the default search engine in 2002. Concerned that its position was slipping, Google proposed to pay the company in 2005, threatening to withhold payments if other corporations had similar access, according to the authorities.