Meta Platforms, Inc. (META)

UPDATE 1-Google, US clash over search advertising as trial winds down

Google and the U.S. Justice Department clashed in court on Friday over claims that the Alphabet unit unlawfully schemed to dominate search advertising, during closing arguments in a case the government contends could shape the “future of the internet.” U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta in Washington grilled both sides with questions, probing whether competitive platforms such as ByteDance’s TikTok and Meta’s Facebook and Instagram are competitive substitutes for search advertising dollars. Mehta called platform “substitutability” for advertisers a central issue the court must resolve, as he prepares to render a major decision in coming months on whether Google's conduct broke antitrust law.