Google Antitrust Trial: Former Exec Reveals Aggressive Tactics to Dominate Mobile Search Market

Chris Barton, a former Google executive, recently testified that the tech giant aggressively pushed for its search engine to be the default on mobile carriers and Android smartphones. Barton revealed that Google recognized the “massive value of mobile users relying on its search engine on early smartphones.”

The New York Post reports that Chris Barton, who was responsible for Google’s partnerships with major mobile carriers like Verizon and AT&T from 2004 to 2011, recently took the stand in an ongoing antitrust trial against Google. Barton testified that Google quickly recognized the “massive value of mobile users relying on its search engine on early smartphones.”

Sundar Pichai CEO of Google ( Carsten Koall /Getty)

According to Barton, Google was not just content with being one of the options; the company aggressively pressed for exclusive status as the default search engine. The company anticipated that smartphone users would have difficulty switching to Google from Microsoft’s Bing, according to Barton during the second day of the 10-day trial.

This testimony is central to the DOJ’s claim that Google has engaged in anti-competitive practices to maintain its dominant hold on the U.S. search engine market. The federal government argued that Google paid “more than $10 billion per year” to various companies, including tech giants like Apple and Samsung, to secure a staggering 91 percent share of the search engine market.

Google, however, has vehemently denied any wrongdoing. The company’s attorney, John Schmidtlein, argued that users opt for Google search due to its quality rather than exclusivity deals. “Users today have more search options and more ways to access information online than ever before,” Schmidtlein said in his opening statement. He further added that the payments to partners were “fair compensation” and that users could easily change their default search engine if they wished.

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