Google asks court to toss out federal antitrust lawsuit

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Alphabet Inc’s Google asked a federal court late on Monday to toss out the U.S. Justice Department’s 2020 lawsuit against it, which alleged that the search giant violated antitrust law to maintain dominance in its search business.

Documents laying out Google’s reasoning for the summary judgment request were sealed. When it was filed, the company said the lawsuit was “deeply flawed” and “relies on dubious antitrust arguments.” It argued that its overwhelming market share, which allowed “google” to become a verb meaning “search,” is thanks to the quality of its search product, adding that its efforts to promote search were entirely legal.

Trial in the case is set for September 2023.

The U.S. Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

(Reporting by Diane Bartz; Editing by Josie Kao)