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The trial began Tuesday with talk of the "future of the internet" but quickly plunged into the weeds of commercial agreements with Android makers like Motorola and Samsung. James Kolotouros, a Google executive responsible for negotiating the company's agreements with Android device makers and carriers, testified late in the week that Google pressed Android smartphone makers to have Google as the default search engine and other Google apps pre-installed on their machines. The antitrust fight has major implications for Big Tech, which has spent years being scrutinized by Congress and antitrust enforcers. Google argues that its search engine is wildly popular because of its quality, and payments to wireless companies or others were compensation for partners. The government also questioned a former Google executive, Chris Barton, who was at Google from 2004 to 2011.

Persons: Department's, Brian Higgins, James Kolotouros, Google's John Schmidtlein, Kolotouros, Antonio Rangel, Chris Barton, Barton, Bing, Tim Wu, Diane Bartz, Chizu Organizations: Google, Verizon, Motorola, Samsung, Department, Big Tech, Companies, California Institute of Technology, Biden, Thomson Locations: Bing

☆ Google argued during its antitrust trial that Android users can switch default search engines with a couple of clicks. An expert testified it took him 10 steps.
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-14 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Google's antitrust trial is in full swing. However, one expert testified that switching from Google to Bing on an Android 12 was a 10-step process. Chris Barton, who worked for Google from 2004 to 2011, testified that he made it a priority to negotiate for Google to be the default search engine on mobile devices. He said he acquired an Android 12 phone and studied the process required to replace the Google search engine with Bing; it took 10 steps. Barton, however, testified that Google wasn't the only search engine seeking default status with phone companies.

Persons: Bing, Chris Barton, Antonio Rangel, Rangel, Barton, Microsoft's Bing, Trump, Judge Amit Mehta, Sundar Pichai, Larry Page, Eddy, Hal Varian Organizations: Google, Service, U.S . Justice Department, California Institute of Technology, Bing, Yahoo, Verizon, Justice Department, Inc, Apple Locations: Wall, Silicon, WASHINGTON, Germany, Austria, , California

First out of the gate, the government questioned a former Google executive, Chris Barton, about billion-dollar deals with mobile carriers and others that helped make Google the default search engine. Google's clout in search, the government argues, has helped Google build monopolies in some aspects of online search advertising. In revenue-sharing deals with mobile carriers and Android smartphone makers, Google pressed for its search to be the default and exclusive. If Microsoft's search engine Bing was the default on an Android phone, Barton said, then users would have a "difficult time finding or changing to Google." Barton said on his LinkedIn profile that he was responsible for leading Google's partnerships with mobile carriers like Verizon (VZ.N) and AT&T, estimating that the deals "drive hundreds of millions in revenue."

Persons: Chris Barton, Barton, Bing, Hal Varian, John Schmidtlein, Judge Amit Mehta, Mehta, Diane Bartz, Nick Zieminski, Richard Chang, Howard Goller Organizations: Justice, Google, Inc, Apple, Mozilla, Verizon, Big Tech, Microsoft, Thomson Locations: U.S

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Justice Department pressed ahead with its antitrust case against Google Wednesday, questioning a former employee of the search engine giant about deals he helped negotiate with phone companies in the 2000s. Chris Barton, who worked for Google from 2004 to 2011, testified that he made it a priority to negotiate for Google to be the default search engine on mobile devices. Google counters that it dominates the internet search market because its product is better than the competition. And Barton testified that Google wasn't the only search engine seeking default status with phone companies. Google has emerged as the dominant player in internet searches, accounting for about 90% of the market.

Persons: Chris Barton, Barton, Microsoft's Bing, Trump, Judge Amit Mehta, Sundar Pichai, Larry Page, Eddy, Hal Varian, ____ Michael Liedtke Organizations: WASHINGTON, U.S . Justice Department, Google, Yahoo, Verizon, Justice Department, Inc, Apple Locations: U.S, , California

Chris Barton, who was at Google from 2004 to 2011, said that the company was quick to see the advantage of people using Google search on Palm devices and early versions of smartphones. "As we recognized the opportunity for search on mobile phones we began to build a product team," he said. Dintzer also said that Google manipulated auctions for internet ads in order to raise prices for advertisers. Since search is free, Google makes its money via advertising. He may decide simply to order Google to stop practices he has found to be illegal or he may order Google to sell assets.

Persons: Chris Barton, Barton, Department's Kenneth Dintzer, Dintzer, John Schmidtlein, Hal Varian, Amit Mehta, Diane Bartz, Nick Zieminski Organizations: Justice Department, Google, Verizon, AT, DOJ, Justice, Apple, Mozilla, Big Tech, Microsoft, Thomson

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