Users Are Not Stupid!, Google's Reason In Antitrust Trial In The European Union

Google has denied allegations of monopoly action. (photo: wikimedia)

JAKARTA - Billions of people use Google because the platform is considered the best. Not because of a deal the company made to stay competitive. This argument was put forward by Google's lawyers on Friday, September 1, ending a week of trial testimony as the US tech giant fought a record $5 billion antitrust fine.

The European Commission hit Alphabet's Google with a $5 billion fine in 2018 for using the Android mobile operating system to thwart rivals and cement its dominance in general internet search from 2011.

At issue are deals that require phone makers to install the Google Search app and Chrome browser app along with Google Play, as well as deals that block some variants of Android.

"The reason billions of people choose Google as their search tool every day is not because it abuses dominance. It's because it's the best," lawyer Meredith Pickford told the EU General Court, which is the territory's second highest court.

Pickford said the deal was far from being an anti-competitive tool, but rather to ensure Google remained competitive.

"You can still compete fiercely and compete for excellence. Consumers are not stupid. If Bing or another search engine is better than Google, people will turn to it," he said, referring to rival Microsoft Corp and search engines.

"Successful companies don't stay successful by complacency and failing to compete," Pickford said in court.

European Commission lawyer Nicholas Khan said the deal showed Google had piled up favorable odds and urged judges to uphold the Commission's decision and fines.

"Google gave itself a laurel wreath even before the race started," Khan said. "The scale of the practice fully justifies the fine imposed."

It is not clear when there will be a verdict in the case, namely T-604/18 Google vs European Commission.