“The case centers on whether Google illegally cemented its dominance and squashed competition by paying Apple and other companies to make its internet search engine the default on the iPhone as well as on other devices and platforms. In legal filings, the Justice Department has argued that Google maintained a monopoly through such agreements, making it harder for consumers to use other search engines. Google has said that its deals with Apple and others were not exclusive and that consumers could alter the default settings on their devices to choose alternative search engines.” NYT (Gift Article): In Its First Monopoly Trial of Modern Internet Era, U.S. Sets Sights on Google.

+ This is, of course, a very big case and very big deal. But it’s ironic that it comes at a time when the way we interact with the internet is starting to change in some fundamental ways. I covered this last week in, Sole Searching.