Google CEO Sundar Pichai tried to convince a federal judge on Wednesday that the Department of Justice's proposed plan to disband the search monopoly will have “many unintended consequences.”
DOJ asked District Judge Amit Mehta to approve several remedies, including the forced sale of Google's Chrome web browser.
Testifying in Google's defense in Washington federal court, Pichai called the data sharing requirement “extraordinary” and argued that it would lead to a “de facto sale” of the company's online search business.
“It's trivial to reverse engineer and effectively build Google searches from outside,” says Pichai.
“If approved, the remedy would make it “infeasible” for Google to “invest in R&D over the past 20 years,” the CEO added.
Aside from selling Chrome and sharing data, DOJ claims that Google should be banned from paying billions of dollars to Apple and other partners, making sure that search engines are enabled by default on most smartphones.
The meta determining the outcome of non-jug cases focused on the role of default trading in the stifling competition during Pichai's appearance in the stands.
“If Google can continue to pay by default, how can other competitors pay as long as Google can?” Meta asked at one point.
DOJ's lawyers concluded their lawsuit earlier this week with a historic relief phase that begins on April 21 and is expected to last around three weeks. Mehta already determined in August last year that Google is a “monopoly” than online searches.
While in the stands, Pichai argued that the DOJ proposal would be even more extensive than the European Union's digital market laws. Bloomberg reported.
Pichai also testified that Google is aiming to reach an agreement with Apple to integrate the Gemini AI chatbot with IPHONE.
Aside from selling Chrome and sharing data, DOJ claims that Google should be banned from paying billions of dollars to Apple and other partners, making sure that search engines are enabled by default on most smartphones.
Pichai defended these partnerships, claiming that they have enabled smartphone makers to support the Android software ecosystem.
Meh looked skeptical of the argument.
“If Google can continue to pay by default, how can other competitors pay as long as Google can?” Meta asked at one point.
The Fed also raised the possibility that it would force Google to sell ownership of the Android operating system if the initial bailout was found to be ineffective in dealing with monopolies.
The DOJ lawyer also warned that Google is already using artificial intelligence as a “way to access search,” saying the remedy is “positive and will not ignore anything on the horizon.”
Google's legal team argues that DOJ's proposal is too extreme.
The company says forced sales of Chrome and Android “break these platforms,” putting US national security at risk and potentially allowing China to jump over the US to develop AI and other key technologies.
DOJ Antitrust Chief Gale Slater shot down that debate in a speech outside DC court last week.
“Do you know what is dangerous? Google presents us to free our freedom of speech, our freedom of thinking, and the American digital market. Do you know you are irresponsible?
With post wire
