When the government initiated an antitrust investigation into Google, one of the company’s top lawyers, Kent Walker, dismissed the idea of a charm offensive. He believed that Google simply needed to explain how its business worked. This was back in 2009 when the Federal Trade Commission was looking into whether Google manipulated technology markets in its favor. Walker’s plan succeeded, as Google only had to make a few minor changes to its business practices and maintained its domination of the search engine market for the next decade.
However, Google is now facing its most significant legal challenge to date. It is preparing to go to federal court next week to defend against the Justice Department and a group of states that claim the tech giant illegally abused its monopoly power to maintain its search engine supremacy.
The Justice Department argues that Google struck deals with phone makers like Apple and Samsung, as well as internet browsers like Mozilla, to ensure that its search engine was the default option for their users. This prevented smaller competitors from gaining access to this lucrative business. This court battle could have far-reaching consequences for Alphabet, Google’s parent company, potentially threatening its $1.7 trillion empire and curtailing the power and influence of the world’s most successful internet company.
If Google loses the case and is required to restructure, it could face significant fines and be forbidden from entering search distribution deals. This would result in a loss of users, reduced profits, and potential restrictions on Google’s ability to innovate with new technologies like artificial intelligence.
In order to counter the regulators’ allegations, Google needs to persuade Judge Amit P. Mehta of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia that its dominance is a result of offering a superior product rather than employing abusive tactics. To achieve this, Google is once again relying on the expertise of Kent Walker. Since joining Google as its general counsel in 2006, Walker has played a pivotal role in the company’s legal strategy, overseeing crucial victories in court battles against Oracle and defending Google against potential liabilities arising from users’ social media posts, both of which went all the way to the Supreme Court.
It is somewhat ironic that Walker, who grew up in Silicon Valley and has a background in prosecuting hackers during his time at the Justice Department, is now defending a tech giant against claims of a monopoly. Between 1997 and 2001, Walker served as deputy general counsel at Netscape and was involved in the antitrust proceedings against Microsoft, accusing the Windows company of bundling its products to stifle competition from other web browsers.
Walker recently emphasized in an interview that he still believes in providing consumers with easy access to their preferred services. He sees this case as a battle over the limits imposed by American antitrust law on innovation and its wide-ranging implications for the tech sector.
In preparing for the antitrust case, Walker has assembled a team of in-house lawyers and hundreds of employees. Google has also secured the services of three law firms to lead the litigation. The defense team will have three weeks to present their case after the Justice Department and a group of attorneys general from various states present theirs.
Google will argue that it faces strong competition from alternative services like Amazon and TikTok, where consumers can find products and information online. Furthermore, Google will argue that its agreements with companies such as Apple and Samsung are legal and that users can easily change their default search engine in just a few steps on these devices. Google will also highlight the fact that when users open the Safari browser on an iPhone, they have quick links to a variety of other services besides Google, including Microsoft’s Bing search engine and Wikipedia.
Google will aim to challenge the premise of the Justice Department’s case by arguing that the government is using antitrust law in an unprecedented way to punish the company due to its popularity. Google believes that American law should prioritize benefits for consumers, such as lower prices, increased innovation, and greater opportunities. Walker asserts that if companies are hindered in their ability to provide excellent goods and services, it will ultimately be detrimental to everyone.
The case will likely involve arguments about whether the search market would be more competitive without Google’s default search agreements. Proponents of Google will point out that Apple had no interest in developing its own search engine despite including search functionality in Siri and other features. On the other hand, the government will argue that Apple could have partnered with another search engine, such as Bing, to promote competition.
For nearly two decades, Google has relied on Kent Walker to protect the company from high-stakes litigation. However, he has also had to navigate the complex legal landscape and explain to Google’s co-founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, that the law does not always align with rationality.
In spite of Walker’s reputation as a principled individual, his team has gained a reputation for employing aggressive tactics in court. David Boies, a lawyer who successfully prosecuted Microsoft for the Justice Department, has accused Google of not producing relevant documents, denying any liability, and fiercely resisting their opponents. Boies himself is currently suing Google in two civil cases, one of which accuses the company of covertly tracking users in its web browser’s Incognito mode without their knowledge. As a result of Google’s failure to provide crucial evidence, Boies has obtained sanctions against the company, including a million-dollar penalty.
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