By Jody Godoy
(Reuters)-Alphabet’s strict measures will be needed to prevent Google from using its artificial intelligence products to expand its domain in online search, a United States Department lawyer said early Monday (21).
The result of the judgment could fundamentally reshape the internet, depriving Google as the online information portal. The DOJ compared the process to its previous efforts to break up AT&T, Microsoft and Standard Oil.
“The time has come to tell Google and all the other monopolists they are listening to, and they are listening, that there are consequences when they violate the antitrust laws,” said DOJ David Dahlquist lawyer during his opening speech.
The DOJ and a wide coalition of state prosecutors seek to force Google to sell its Chrome browser and take other measures to restore competition, even if the research evolves to overlap with general AI products such as chatgPT.
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“The solution of this court must be focused on the future and not ignore what is on the horizon,” said Dahlquist.
Witnesses of perplexity AI and OpenAi will testify about how research and AI overlap and how Google’s domain affects their business, Dahlquist said.
John Schmidtlein, a partner at Williams & Connolly, told US District Judge Amit Mehta that DOJ proposals are equivalent to “a list of desires for competitors who want to obtain the benefits of Google’s extraordinary innovations.”
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AI competitors “would also like to get help, although they are competing well,” he said.
Google argues that its AI products are outside the scope of the case, which has focused on search engines. The adoption of the proposed remedies “would delay US innovation at a critical moment,” Google executive Lee-Anne Mulholland said in a blog post on Sunday.
The company plans to appeal the final decision of the case.
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Antitrust authorities have proposed long -range measures to quickly open the research market and give new competitors an advantage.
Its proposals include the end of exclusive agreements in which Google pays billions of dollars annually to Apple and other device suppliers to make Google the standard search engine on its tablets and smartphones.
Google would also have to license search results for competitors, among other requirements. And would be required to sell your Android mobile operating system if other measures cannot restore the competition.
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(Report by Jody Godoy in Washington)
