Google calls US Justice Department's antitrust lawsuit 'deeply flawed'

Alphabet Inc'sGooglesaid the USJustice Department's antitrust lawsuit against the company was "deeply flawed" and that users would find it more difficult to access superior search tools and affordable smartphones if the government wins its case.

"American antitrust law is designed to promote innovation and help consumers, not tilt the playing field in favor of particular competitors or make it harder for people to get the services they want,"Googlesenior vice president Kent Walker said in a blog post on Tuesday.

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The lawsuit by the Justice Department and 11 states allegesGoogleused its market power to fend off rivals, including through distribution agreements that gave its search engine prominent placement on phones and internet browsers.

Googlesays those agreements, in which it shares revenue from search ads with distributors such as iPhone maker Apple Inc, help subsidize phones.

Companies could carry other search engines, but users have repeatedly shown a preference forGoogle's search tools, Walker said. Consumers who prefer an alternative are able to switch the default search tool on iPhones and other devices, he said. But forcing device and browser makers to set "lower-quality search alternatives" as the default was not beneficial to consumers, Walker added.

He also described as incorrect the Justice Department's conclusion that topic-specific search tools such as travel services Kayak and Expedia or shopping giant Amazon.com Inc were not competitors toGooglesearch.

Googlecontends the popularity of those narrow search tools lowers its market share than when counting only Microsoft Corp's Bing and other "general" search tools as competition.