Google's back in court, but this time it may not be just about search. The DOJ is signaling a bigger shift,

and I trust that looks forward, not back. Our dear Dobosa has more in today's Tech Check, D,

and what in the story that is sometimes a little difficult to get your arms around.

It is, and that's why this shift is so important to investors as well. And this line from

DOJ attorney, David Dauquist, this is critical.

He says this court's remedy should be forward-looking and not ignore what is on the horizon.

Now that tells us that for the first time the government is no longer just playing catch-up,

but going after what is next.

And unlike earlier antitrust actions that only really brushed up against Google's

AI ambitions, this one could target them head on. The current search case deemed Google's

practice of paying Apple and Samsung to be the default search engine deemed that illegal. Now,

testimony is being heard that will determine the changes to force Google to remedy that behavior.

But even as the court weighs remedies for Google's past behavior, new testimony from yesterday

reveals that Google is now paying Samsung again, this time though, to pre-install its AI app,

Gemini, on new devices.

Now, in other words, it's Google trying to secure early dominance in the next interface.

Remember that AI assistance and apps, they are designed by nature to entirely bypass traditional

search altogether.

Now, the timing, too, is damning.

This deal began in January, according to that testimony.

And that was just months after Google was found to have violated the law for running the same

playbook in search.

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