The Antitrust Trial at the Heart of the Tech World

Search for Monopoly

The future of big tech could be decided in a Washington courtroom over the coming weeks as Google (GOOGL) goes on trial over antitrust accusations.

The government accused Google, who is the biggest advertising business on the internet, of spending $10 billion per year to protect its monopoly. According to government estimates, Google has more than a 90% market share in the search engine industry. After all, the terms ‘search engine’ and ‘google’ are practically synonyms.

The trial is the biggest in decades. The Department of Justice and 52 U.S. attorney generals are suing the search giant over its dominance.

Alliances and Antitrust

This isn’t the first antitrust case against Google. Three years ago, the government brought a case over the company’s alleged monopoly in search and advertising.

This time, the Justice Department argues Google’s agreements with key players like Apple (AAPL), Mozilla, and Samsung (SSNLF) are strategic moves designed to block out competition and cement Google’s position.

The Justice Department says this suppresses rival competitors and hinders innovation.

The Domino Effect

The implications of the trial could be far-reaching: Depending on the result, Google’s business model, which included $58 billion in search ad revenue last quarter, could be challenged.

Historically, antitrust battles have focused on challenging or canceling mergers and acquisitions. This suit is the first of its size to set its sights solely on a tech giant’s business practices, with the potential result to force a restructuring of the company.

The trial could also spell challenges for other tech companies, as the lawsuit is pushing to take the “big” out of “big tech”.

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