Google has filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit accusing its search engine of violating antitrust law, according to unsealed court documents. In the motion filed, Google argues that the lawsuit misrepresents its agreements with Android phone manufacturers and browser developers.
The motion was filed in a lawsuit filed by a coalition of state attorneys general and the Department of Justice. The states and the DOJ filed the suits separately but they have been consolidated.
We obtained a copy of the motion for you here.
“Requiring Google not to compete vigorously — or requiring browser developers to alter their product designs and provide a worse experience for their customers would turn competition law on its head,” Google said.
The lawsuit alleges that the tech giant uses anti-competitive practices in search and the Android OS to dominate the search market and deny competitors “vital distribution, scale, and product recognition.”
The motion filed by Google claims that its search agreements with browser developers like Apple and Mozilla do not prevent users from using other search engines and that the dominance is because Google Search outperforms competitors.
“No evidence suggests that Google coerced Apple, Mozilla, or any other browser developer into adopting a design that includes a single default search engine,” the filing states.
The company also argues that its deals with Android phone manufacturers are not exclusive deals.
In a separate lawsuit in Colorado, Google argues it did not illegally preference its search results over specialized “vertical” search engines such as Yelp, which has long argued that Google preferences its own services.
The company is also facing an antitrust lawsuit filed by a coalition of state attorneys general alleging it abuses its control over its app store, an allegation similar to the one brought by Fortnite developer Epic Games against Apple.
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