Google is facing a landmark trial in the US.
The tech giant is facing accusations from federal prosecutors of unreasonably making itself the market leader in search engines by forking out billions of dollars to companies like Apple and Mozilla to become the go-to choice on various online services, which contributed to 90 per cent of all online searches over the world.
The case against Google - which is expected to play out over a 10-week trial which will see Sundar Pichai, the CEO of its parent company Alphabet, testify alongside executives from firms like Apple - asserts this business practice gave them an edge with how much data they command, and it barred their rivals from being able to act in the market, marking an alleged violation of US competition laws.
The case - which was filed just before President Donald Trump left office - is thought to be a watershed moment in how tech companies do business for generations and represents one of the most dramatic moments in the US government’s fight to regulate the sector.
If the government prove to be victorious, Google may no longer be automatically installed as a search engine.
Some analysts have compared the upcoming proceedings to the 1998 case against Microsoft, which ruled the Bill Gates-founded company had created an uncompetitive situation with its software products, like pre-installing Internet Explorer on computers.
Bill Baer, a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution and ex-government anti-trust lawyer, told BBC News: “It’s the anti-trust monopolisation trial of a generation.”
