US lays out how Google dominated search in much-anticipated antitrust trial

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

«This case is about the future of the internet,» said Kenneth Dintzer, arguing for the Justice Department that Google began in 2010 to illegally maintain its monopoly.

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The US Justice Department accuses Google of paying billions of dollars annually to device makers like Apple Inc, wireless companies like AT&T and browser makers like Mozilla to keep Google's search engine on top.

Without serious competition, Google innovated less and paid less attention to other concerns like privacy, said Dintzer.

Google's defense is simple: It argues that its overwhelmingly high market share is not because it broke the law, but because it is a fast, effective search engine. It is also free.

Consumers, Google's lawyers will argue, can delete the Google app from their devices or simply type Microsoft's Bing, Yahoo or DuckDuckGo into a browser to use an alternative search engine. They will argue that consumers stick with Google because they rely on it to answer questions and are not disappointed.

The trial has opening arguments on Tuesday before a packed federal court in Washington, DC and is expected to run up to 10 weeks. It has two phases. In the first, Judge Amit Mehta will decide if Google has broken antitrust law in how it manages search and search advertising.

If Google is found to have broken the law, Judge Mehta will then decide how best to resolve it. He may decide simply to order Google to stop practices he has found to be