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Samsung at center of Google's crucial antitrust trial in U.S.

Published: 23 Apr. 2025, 17:59 Updated: 24 Apr. 2025, 22:26

A man walks past Google's offices in London's Kings Cross area, on Aug. 10, 2024. [AP/YONHAP]

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) disclosed that Google has been making large fixed monthly payments to Samsung during the second round of the U.S. tech giant's antitrust trial, which kicked off on Monday.

The allegation comes amid the DOJ's mounting concern that Google’s dominance in the search market could expand further with the rise of artificial intelligence (AI).

At the federal courthouse in Washington, the DOJ once again stressed that divesting the Chrome browser is necessary to dismantle Google's alleged unlawful monopoly over the global search market, in which it holds a 90 percent share.

The DOJ said Chrome is “a significant gateway to search” and “a starting point for 35 percent of user queries,” adding that selling Chrome would allow competitors to access vast volumes of search queries and compete with Google more effectively.

In August last year, the federal court ruled that Google monopolized the online search market. This new trial is the second round, initiated after Google appealed that ruling. At the case's core is the claim that Google maintained its dominant position by paying hundreds of billions of dollars annually to wireless carriers, browser developers and device manufacturers — notably Apple and Samsung.

On the first day of the trial, the DOJ said that Google was already showing signs of strengthening its dominance, centered on its representative AI model, Gemini. Google has agreed with its partner, Samsung, to pay an “enormous sum” of money to preinstall the AI app onto the companies’ phones, according to the DOJ.

Peter Fitzgerald, Google's vice president, who testified in court the same day, acknowledged that Google agreed in January to pay Samsung for at least two years in connection with the use of Gemini AI on their devices, saying the two companies share a portion of the revenue generated through ads displayed within the Gemini app on those devices.

Google sign on the Googleplex office in Silicon Valley on Jan. 2, 2018 [GETTY IMAGES]

Why this matters

Google, the world’s largest search engine company, faces dual legal threats that could imperil its core advertising and search businesses. On April 17, Google lost another antitrust case related to the online advertising technology market. The court ruled that Google’s bundling of its publisher ad server, used to place and manage ads on websites, with its ad exchange, which facilitates real-time ad bidding, was an illegal act that excluded competition.

Google's search advertising revenue accounts for over 55 percent of the parent company Alphabet’s total revenue. Chrome itself holds over 60 percent of the global browser market. Depending on the trial's outcome, Google’s top cash cow and core businesses could be seriously impacted.

Google is pushing back.

John Schmidtlein, Google’s lead attorney, said that Google faces more competition today than ever, calling the government’s proposed remedies “a wish list for competitors looking to get the benefits” of the search engine.

In two blog posts, Leanne Mulholland, Google’s vice president of regulatory affairs, mentioned China’s AI startup DeepSeek and argued that the DOJ’s demands could hamper “American innovation at a critical moment.”

The logo of Google LLC is shown at an entrance to one of their buildings in San Diego, California, Oct. 9, 2024 [REUTERS]

What’s next

The trial is scheduled to last three weeks. The court will then review the submissions from both parties and deliver a ruling in August. The outcome will not only determine Google’s future but could also affect other Big Tech companies facing potential regulatory crackdowns under the second Trump administration.

Last month, President Trump appointed tech regulation advocate Gail Slater to lead the DOJ’s antitrust division, declaring that “Big Tech has run wild for years, stifling competition in our most innovative sector and, as we all know, using its market power to crack down on the rights of so many Americans, as well as those of Little Tech!” in a post on Truth Social.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a lawsuit claiming Meta’s acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp violated antitrust laws. Apple and Amazon are also under antitrust investigations.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY HONG SANG-JI [[email protected]]