Google dominates internet search market ??

The US department of justice has accused Google of using its dominant position in the internet search market to stifle competition and hinder innovation. The department claims that Google rigged the market in its favour by making its search engine the default choice on various platforms and devices.

Today, Google’s corporate parent, Alphabet Inc., is worth $1.7 trillion and employs 182,000 people, with most of the money coming from $224 billion in annual ad sales flowing through a network of digital services anchored by a search engine that fields billions of queries a day.

In the much-anticipated antitrust trial against Google, the US government has laid out how the company has dominated search and stifled competition. The government alleges that Google has used a variety of tactics to maintain its dominance, including:

· Paying billions of dollars to smartphone manufacturers and other partners to make Google the default search engine on their devices

· Requiring advertisers to use Google's search advertising platform in order to place ads on its search results pages

· Copying features from rival search engines and then integrating them into its own search engine

· Using its market power to pressure websites to adopt its search engine and other products and services

The government's case is based on a number of internal Google documents, as well as testimony from former Google employees. The government argues that Google's behaviour has harmed consumers by limiting their choices and reducing innovation in the search market.

Google has denied the government's allegations, arguing that its dominance in search is due to its superior products and services. It argues that its overwhelmingly high market share is not because it broke the law, but because it is a fast, effective search engine. It is also free.

Consumers, Google’s lawyers will argue, can delete the Google app from their devices or simply type Microsoft’s Bing, Yahoo or DuckDuckGo into a browser to use an alternative search engine. They will argue that consumers stick with Google because they rely on it to answer questions and are not disappointed.

However, the trial is expected to last several weeks. The judge in the case will decide whether Google has violated antitrust laws. If Google is found guilty, it could face a number of penalties, including fines, divestitures, and changes to its business practices.

The outcome of the trial could have a significant impact on the future of the search market. If Google is found guilty and forced to change its behaviour, it

could open the door for new competitors to emerge. This could lead to more innovation and lower prices for consumers.

Dr. Deepak Kumar Sahu, President & CEO, VARINDIA