A historic trial begins on Tuesday in Washington between the United States and Google to determine whether the tech company’s search engine success is due to its performance or as a result of anti-competitive practices.
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C’est un procès marathon qui s’ouvre mardi 12 septembre entre les États-Unis et Google, pour décider si le géant des technologies a abusé de la position dominante de son produit phare, devenu synonyme des recherches en ligne.
In the center of this historic trial – twenty years after similar proceedings against Microsoft – lies the following question: Does Google owe the success of its search engine to its performance or to anti-competitive practices?
According to the US government, Google built its empire through illegal contracts with companies like Samsung, Apple, and Firefox, ensuring that its tool is pre-installed on their smartphones and services.
Cette domination d’Internet et donc de la publicité numérique a permis à Alphabet, la maison mère de Google, de devenir l’une des entreprises les plus riches du monde.
For ten weeks, a hundred witnesses were heard in a Washington court as the Californian company aims to convince federal judge Amit Mehta that the Department of Justice’s allegations are baseless.
« I cannot reword »
« I cannot reword »
This is the most significant trial brought in the name of competition law against a major technology company since the same authority targeted Microsoft over the dominance of the Windows operating system.
The Washington lawsuits against Microsoft, initiated in 1998, concluded with a settlement in 2001, following a court of appeals overturning a decision to break up the company.
« I cannot reword »
Des dizaines d’États américains, le Colorado en tête, se sont également joints à la bataille. Même si le juge a rejeté certains de leurs arguments avant le procès – ils accusaient notamment Google d’avoir illégalement déclassé des sites tels que Yelp et Expedia.
Le moteur de recherche représente 90 % de ce marché aux États-Unis et dans le monde entier, notamment grâce aux recherches sur les smartphones, essentiellement des iPhone (Apple) et des téléphones opérés par Android (Google). Les recettes de la publicité adossée aux résultats de recherche représentent près de 60 % des revenus du groupe, loin devant ses autres branches, de YouTube à Android.
Ses rivaux, comme Bing (Microsoft) et DuckDuckGo, n’ont jamais réussi à gagner beaucoup de terrain.
Amendes en Europe
Google is at risk of facing significant consequences. If, in a few months, Amit Mehta rules in favor of the United States, the company may be compelled to divest certain operations in order to enforce changes in its practices.
In Europe, he has already been fined over 8.2 billion euros for various violations of competition law, although some of these decisions are being appealed.
The stakes are equally high for the Joe Biden government. Lawsuits were initiated in 2020 by the Donald Trump administration, but the Democratic president has made it a point of honor to challenge tech giants, with limited success so far.
In July, the US competition authority, the FTC, halted its process to prevent Microsoft from acquiring video game publisher Activision Blizzard, following a series of legal setbacks.
« I cannot reword »
In January, the Ministry of Justice filed another complaint against Google regarding its advertising activity. The trial may take place next year.
Avec AFP
