As part of the antitrust trial against Google, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella testified Monday before a full courtroom. The Department of Justice (DOJ) is trying to prove that the company run by Sundar Pichai maintains an illegal monopoly in the online search market.
According to Nadella's testimony, one of the key factors in the case is the agreement that Google has to be the default search engine in all web browsers. Indeed, as reported by The Hill, he claimed that Google has made it difficult for Microsoft to compete in the search engine market.
Both companies are immersed in a race for artificial intelligence, a topic that Nardella addressed at the hearing. He mentioned that the company could also use its size to dominate the emerging artificial intelligence (AI) space.
"Despite my enthusiasm that there is a new angle with AI, I worry a lot that this vicious cycle that I’m trapped in could get even more vicious," he expressed on this point according to The New York Times.
The DOJ's position claims that, through agreements with companies like Apple to set Google as the default search engine, the company maintains an illegal monopoly in the search market. According to the accusations, they have paid about 10 billion dollars illegally to have that position. But Google and Sundar Pichai indicate that users can easily switch from one search engine to another, so the agreements signed do not imply a hidden monopoly.
However, Nadella did not agree with this latest version. “You get up in the morning, you brush [your] teeth and you search on Google,” he said, according to the Times.
Once the DOJ and the attorneys general of the states involved have finished their arguments, Google will have its turn to defend itself. The trial is expected to last approximately 10 weeks.
