Google Antitrust Trial Week 1: Feds Paint Picture Of Search Bully

In the opening week of the US Justice Department’s antitrust case against Google, the search company faced allegations that it strong-armed partners into deals that cemented its dominance. The federal government argues that around 2010, Google began using anti-competitive tactics to maintain its search engine monopoly. According to the Justice Department, Google used the “power of defaults” to strike deals, ensuring its search engine’s prominence in web browsers and operating systems. This strategy included securing agreements with Apple and Mozilla to make Google the default search engine in Safari and Firefox and requiring Android manufacturers to prominently feature a Google search widget on their phones. hopes to convince Judge Amit Mehta that Google’s tactics have stifled competition in a way that hurts users.