vor around a decade ago, Google had to fear an antitrust lawsuit in its American homeland. The FTC had spent nearly two years investigating the internet giant’s business practices amid concerns it was stifling competition in its markets. As so often happens when its power is questioned, the company defends itself by saying that the competition is “just a click away.” In the end it got off lightly. It made minor concessions as part of a settlement, and the FTC declined to sue.
Critics viewed the agreement as further evidence of the toothlessness of American competition watchdogs. In the years that followed, it was primarily European authorities who targeted Google. Between 2017 and 2019, the EU Commission imposed three antitrust fines against Google, totaling more than eight billion euros.
But now things are getting uncomfortable for the company in the USA too. An antitrust trial begins in Washington on September 12th that revolves around allegations that Google unlawfully maintained its monopoly position in Internet search and related advertising. The case stems from a lawsuit filed by the Department of Justice, the second major antitrust authority in the country alongside the FTC, in fall 2020.
Bill Baer, who worked in the ministry’s competition department under former US President Barack Obama, gives the upcoming Google trial a similar significance to the spectacular antitrust dispute over the software company Microsoft in the late 1990s. “It will be an antitrust case for the history books.”
No compromise foreseeable
The trial begins just days after Google celebrated its 25th birthday. The underlying lawsuit dates back to the era of former President Donald Trump, but the process continued to be vigorously pursued under current incumbent Joe Biden. It is unlikely that the showdown in court can be averted with a settlement, but Google is determined to fight out the dispute. The trial is expected to last around ten weeks, and Google wants to have high-profile witnesses testify, including its CEO Sundar Pichai.
The decision then rests with the responsible judge, Amit Mehta, although his judgment is unlikely to be the last word. Lawyer Baer believes it is “almost inevitable” that the losing side will appeal, and he thinks the path through the courts could lead all the way to the Supreme Court in Washington. The dispute could drag on for years.
The Justice Department itself has described the antitrust dispute with Google as a “monumental case.” It accuses the company of having created a “cycle of monopolization”. With his search engine he has had a market share of almost 90 percent in the USA for years, and he has also monopolized the associated search advertising. He uses the resulting “monopoly profits” to buy preferential treatment from the search engine. He is spending billions on agreements with device manufacturers such as Apple and Samsung and Internet browser developers such as Mozilla to make his own search service the default setting and block competitors.
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