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Google will return to federal court Friday to fend off the US Justice Department's attempt to topple its internet empire at the same time it's navigating a pivotal shift to artificial intelligence that could undercut its power. The legal and technological threats facing Google are among the key issues that will be dissected during the closing arguments of a legal proceeding that will determine the changes imposed upon the company in the wake of its dominant search engine being declared as an illegal monopoly by US District Judge Amit Mehta last year. Brandishing evidence presented during a recent three-week stretch of hearings, Justice Department lawyers will attempt to persuade Mehta to order a radical shake-up that includes a ban on Google paying to lock its search engine in as the default on smart devices and an order requiring the company to sell its Chrome browser. Google lawyers are expected to assert only minor concessions are needed, especially as the upheaval triggered by .
The Competition Commission on Tuesday granted approval to Alphabet's arm Shoreline International Holdings LLC to acquire a stake in Walmart group firm Flipkart. Shoreline International Holding is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Google's parent firm Alphabet Inc. It is a holding company and does not own or operate any Google products or services. "The proposed transaction comprises an investment through subscription of shares of Flipkart Pvt Ltd (Target) by Shoreline International Holdings LLC (Acquirer) and an arrangement between an affiliate of the acquirer and the target's subsidiary for the provision of certain services," the regulator said in a release. "Commission approves transaction involving subscription of shares of Flipkart Pvt Ltd by Shoreline, an Alphabet, Inc subsidiary," the regulator said in a post on X. Flipkart is a subsidiary of Walmart Inc and ultimately belongs to the Walmart Group. It is primarily engaged in the business of wholesale cash and carry of goods and ..
One month after a judge declared Google's search engine an illegal monopoly, the tech giant faces another antitrust lawsuit that threatens to break up the company, this time over its advertising technology. The Justice Department and a coalition of states contend that Google built and maintains a monopoly over the technology that matches online publishers to advertisers. Dominance over the software on both the buy side and the sell side of the transaction enables Google to keep as much as 36 cents on the dollar when it brokers sales between publishers and advertisers, the government contends in court papers. Google says the government's case is based on an internet of yesteryear, when desktop computers ruled and internet users carefully typed precise World Wide Web addresses into URL fields. Advertisers now are more likely to turn to social media companies like TikTok or streaming TV services like Peacock to reach audiences. In recent years, Google Networks, the division of the ...