On Tuesday local time, the U.S. Department of Justice’s antitrust lawsuit against Google’s search business will begin in Washington, D.C. This lawsuit is considered "the battle for the soul of the Internet." The U.S. Department of Justice is expected to detail how Google maintains its search engine leadership by paying billions of dollars each year to mobile phone manufacturers such as Apple, telecom operators such as AT&T, and browser makers such as Mozilla.
At the same time, Google's self-defense reason is also simple: Google's overwhelming market share is not due to illegal activities, but because Google provides fast and efficient search services, and it is free.
Google's lawyers will argue that users can delete Google apps from their devices or enter URLs into their browsers to access other search engine services such as Microsoft's Bing, Yahoo or DuckDuckGo. In this case, consumers stick with Google because the Google search engine provides the answers they need without disappointing them.
The trial will begin with opening statements on Tuesday and is expected to last 10 weeks and be divided into two phases. In the first phase, Judge Amit Mehta will rule on whether Google violated antitrust laws in the way it manages its search and search advertising businesses.
If Google is found to have violated antitrust laws, Mehta will also decide how to handle the issue. His measures could include asking Google to stop violating the law or asking it to sell certain assets.
In the indictment, the U.S. government requested "structural corrective measures as necessary," but gave no specific instructions.
The lawsuit has huge implications for big tech companies. These companies are thought to have a habit of acquiring or killing smaller rivals, but are not subject to monopoly charges because the services they provide are either free (like Google) or cheap (like Amazon).
Previous large-scale antitrust lawsuits launched by the U.S. Department of Justice include a lawsuit against Microsoft in 1998 and a lawsuit against AT&T in 1974. The breakup of AT&T in 1982 is considered to have paved the way for the modern mobile phone industry, while the lawsuit against Microsoft is considered to have provided space for the development of Google and other Internet companies.