The U.S. government’s anti-trust lawsuit against Google, a global technology giant, will kick off in three years. It is the largest anti-trust lawsuit against Big Tech since a legal battle with Microsoft (MS), which dominated the browser market with a Windows operating system more than 20 years ago. It is expected to be a legal battle that will affect not only Google’s fate, but also the competitive environment of the technology industry over the next few decades.
According to CNN on the 10th (local time), the anti-trust lawsuit trial filed by the U.S. Department of Justice against Google in October 2020 will begin at the federal court in Washington on the 12th. The lawsuit, filed by the Donald Trump administration before U.S. President Joe Biden took office, addresses the question of whether Google, which controls about 90% of the U.S. search engine market, violated anti-trust laws in the process of forming overwhelming market dominance.
The U.S. Department of Justice believes that Google illegally dominated the search engine distribution network and prevented competitors from entering the market with huge advertising revenue generated from it. Specifically, it is claimed that Google first installed Google as a basic search engine in electronic devices such as web browsers and smartphones, and paid billions of dollars to smartphone manufacturers such as Apple and Samsung, and telecommunication companies such as ATT and T-Mobile to exclude third-party products.
On the other hand, Google is taking the position that its market share has only increased because of its excellent search engine. Kent Walker, president of Google’s global operations, said, “The most searched word in Bing worldwide is ‘Google’. This shows that most people prefer the actual Google search engine.”
If the court favors the U.S. government, it could order Google to sell some of its businesses or stop the business practices in question. Some even talk about the possibility of corporate dissolution. However, no matter what the results are, both sides are expected to appeal, so it is expected to take years to reach a final conclusion of the lawsuit.
