Google's U.S. Antitrust Trial Begins

The US Justice Department is expected to outline how Google paid billions of dollars annually to device makers like Apple Inc., wireless companies such as AT&T, and browser makers like Mozilla to maintain Google's search engine's dominance, as reported by Diane Bartz for Reuters.

Google's legal battle carries significant implications for Big Tech companies, which have faced accusations of acquiring or stifling smaller competitors.

For instance, DuckDuckGo has complained that the process of removing Google as the default search engine on a device and replacing it with DuckDuckGo involves too many steps, making it challenging for them to gain more than a modest 2.3% market share.

A long list of Google's competitors, including DuckDuckGo, Microsoft, and Yahoo, will closely monitor the trial.

This legal battle carries significant implications for Big Tech companies, which have faced accusations of acquiring or stifling smaller competitors.

Still, they have shielded themselves from many antitrust allegations by offering free services, as in the case of Alphabet's Google and Facebook, or low-cost services, as in the case of Amazon.com.

Antitrust lawyer Luke Hasskamp told Reuters, "It would be challenging to overstate the importance of this case, particularly for monopolies and companies with substantial market share."

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