The U.S. Justice Department continued its pursuit of the antitrust case against Google on Wednesday, interrogating a former employee of the search engine giant regarding the deals he was involved in negotiating with phone companies during the 2000s.

Chris Barton, who was employed at Google from 2004 to 2011, testified that he prioritized negotiations for Google to become the default search engine on mobile devices.

In return, phone service providers or manufacturers were offered a portion of the revenue generated from user clicks on ads, the Associated Press reported.

In the most significant antitrust case in a quarter-century, the government contends that Google has manipulated the market in its favor by securing its search engine as the default choice for users on their devices, thereby excluding competition and stifling innovation.

Google, on the other hand, argues that it dominates the internet search market due to the superior quality of its product.

Even when it holds the default position on smartphones and other devices, it asserts that users can easily switch to rival search engines with just a few clicks.

Written by staff