By Foo Yun Chee

LUXEMBOURG, (Reuters) – Billions use Google for its best search results, and not due to deals it made in order to remain competitive. This was the lawyer at Google who said Friday that the U.S. technology giant is fighting a $5 billion antitrust penalty.

Google was fined by the European Commission in 2018 with a penalty of 4.34 billion Euro ($5 Billion) for using Google’s Android mobile operating system in order to defeat rivals. This is in addition to its dominant position in general internet searches since 2011.

These deals require that phone manufacturers pre-install Google Search and Chrome browser apps together with Google Play. Also, some Android versions are blocked by these deals.

Google’s search results are used by billions every day, and it is not due to abuse of dominance. “It’s because Google is the best,” Meredith (NYSE 🙂 Pickford said to the EU General Court. The bloc’s second-highest court.

Pickford stated that the agreements were not anti-competitive, but were meant to keep Google competitive.

It is possible to still compete and be successful if you focus on your merits. People are smarter than you think. People aren’t stupid if Bing or another search engine was superior to Google,” he stated, in reference to a competitor. Microsoft Corp Search engine.

Pickford stated to the court that successful companies do not rest on their laurels, failing to compete.

Nicholas Khan (the European Commission’s attorney) stated that Google was attempting to tilt the odds in Google’s favor. He urged judges not only to overturn the Commission’s fine but also to reverse the decision.

Khan declared that Google has given itself the laurel crown even before the race started. “The fine was completely justified by the magnitude of the violations.”

The verdict of the case was T-604/18 Google against European Commission. It is not known when it will be rendered.

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