Satya Nadella argued that users do not have the option to switch out of their default search engine on mobile phones and PCs
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella on Monday alleged that Google's unfair trade practices have helped the company to maintain its dominant position against Microsoft's Bing. He was testifying at the Google antitrust case brought on by the US Justice Department.
Nadella said Google's dominant position owes to its agreements with device manufacturers to have it as the default search engine on their products. He argued that users do not have the option to switch out of their default search engine on mobile phones and PCs, reported AP.
“The entire notion that users have choice, and they go from one website to another website … is completely bogus…Defaults is the only thing that matters in changing search behaviour," said Nadella in a report by Forbes.
Google in response argued that Microsoft made a series of missteps with Bing that prevented the company from taking Google's market share.
The tech-giant is being sued by the US Justice Department over allegations that it has cut competition by paying companies such as Apple, Verizon, among others, to make its search engine the first that users see when they open their devices.
Google reportedly pays around $10 million to companies like Apple to have its software as the default search engine on their devices.
Google, however, argued that the dominance is due to better services provided when compared to the competitors as users have the option to switch to other engines with a couple of clicks.