U.S. Department of Justice: Google's monopoly has delayed the birth of innovative technologies such as ChatGPT

News on April 14, local time on Thursday, the U.S. Department of Justice stated in the court debate in the monopoly case against Google that if Google did not monopolize the search market, ChatGPT and other technological innovations would It might have been a few years ago.

Kenneth Dintzer, the lead attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice’s antitrust cases, said that just days after Microsoft announced that it would incorporate artificial intelligence research company OpenAI’s chat technology into its Bing search engine, Google It also said it would release its own conversational artificial intelligence products.

Dingze told judge Amit Mehta: "This shows what real competition will bring. Google has maintained its monopoly in search for the past 12 years. . Would we have seen ChatGPT six years ago? Would we have seen five other competitors competing in search? These are questions we can’t answer.”

Google asks Judge Mehta to dismiss Trials are scheduled for September in two antitrust cases brought jointly by the U.S. Department of Justice and multiple state attorneys general. The U.S. Department of Justice and multiple states filed separate lawsuits in 2020, accusing Google of violating antitrust laws by ensuring that its search engine was preinstalled on web browsers and mobile devices. Mehta is overseeing both lawsuits.

Google lawyer John Schmidtlein acknowledged that agreements with Apple and other smartphone makers gave Google an "advantage" but did not violate antitrust laws. Under these agreements, Google Search becomes the default search engine on these phones. "It definitely brings an advantage, but it's not insurmountable," he said.

Schmidlein's comments were in response to Judge Mehta's question about whether Google's default search engine agreement gives it It brings advantages that competitors cannot match. Judge Mehta said: "These agreements have a self-reinforcing nature. The only unique thing, in my view, is that the product gets better as long as there are default settings. Google collects more data with these types of agreements , and also has the ability to provide more accurate and efficient search results."

According to Schmidlein, Google first signed a contract with Apple in 2003 to become the default search engine for its Safari browser. At the time, Google was one of many search engines, and Apple's Mac computers had a fairly small market share. Exactly how much Google pays Apple remains a secret, but it's likely no less than a few billion dollars a year.

Mehta also pressed Google on why it is still paying for default status today when it is the undisputed leader in search. Schmidlein explained: "They spend money to promote their product so that people can use it. As for whether people will switch to Google's search service, it depends entirely on the user."

However, U.S. Department of Justice lawyer Ding Ze said that Google’s insistence on signing exclusive agreements and paying huge fees is the key. He said: "Google pays billions of dollars to get and maintain the default status of its search engine. Google keeps saying: 'It's because people need us.' But if people really want to use it, they don't have to spend every year Billions of dollars." Judge Mehta also rejected some of the Justice Department's arguments and asked the agency to specify what different corrective actions Google should have taken. Dingze said that after gaining dominance, Google should have eliminated exclusivity clauses in its contracts. He said that would allow potential competitors to bid for access points on smartphones and browsers, and also allow companies like Apple or Firefox developer Mozilla to design their products differently to give consumers more choice.

Judge Mehta is expected to rule this summer.

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