Investing.com -- A crucial legal battle between Alphabet's (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (NASDAQ:GOOG) Google and the U.S. Department of Justice that began with opening arguments earlier this week is "too close to call," according to analysts at Barclays (LON:BARC).
The landmark antitrust case, which is being heard by a court in Washington, revolves around whether the prevalence of Google's search engine has helped underpin uncompetitive practices by the tech giant.
In remarks on Tuesday, DOJ lawyer Kenneth Dintzer argued that Google has effectively blocked out its potential rivals by spending heavily on exclusive contracts with phone manufacturers like Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and other firms. He added this practice has fueled a stream of data into Google that ultimately harms consumers by impacting what they see on the search engine.
Google attorney John Schmidtlein, on the other hand, contended that the group has developed a superior product that customers and companies routinely choose over other options. Schmidtlein said that Apple decided to make Google the default search engine on its Safari browser because the service offered the "best experience" to the iPhone maker's customers.
Judge Amit Mehta, who is overseeing the case, said the trial will help determine if the default status of Google's search engine across multiple browsers is "a form of exclusionary Conduct."
The Barclays analysts said that both sides represented "compelling" opening arguments, noting that the case "could go either way." They added that there will likely be a trickle of information over the coming weeks from the testimonies of various Google and Apple executives, but flagged it isn't likely to be obvious "what the outcome is until the very end of the trial."