It appears Google foresaw the antitrust complaint filed today by the U.S. Department of Justice, as the company published a detailed response to the lawsuit on its Keyword blog. The article, written by Kent Walker, Senior Vice President of Global Affairs and Google Chief Legal Officer, characterizes the DOJ’s case as “deeply flawed” and asserts it “would not benefit consumers.” The post then provides a platform-specific explanation of why Google believes its market standing does not demonstrate the unfair dominance that would constitute an antitrust violation.

Google’s blog entry incorporates GIFs – a common tactic for the company during consumer product announcements. These GIFs demonstrate, through recorded screen captures, how to designate search engines other than Google as the default option in Chrome on both mobile and desktop devices. Walker describes these procedures as “trivially easy” within the post; however, the number of steps required to complete the process on desktop, particularly a slight pause when locating the “Make Default” option, appears somewhat counterproductive.

Google also notes that other companies select its search engine as the default due to its service quality, specifically mentioning Apple and Mozilla. Essentially, Google contends that its search engine’s prominence isn’t a consequence of anti-competitive behavior limiting options, but rather the result of developing a superior product that consumers actively choose from available alternatives.

The complete DOJ lawsuit was released this morning, and preliminary assessments suggest the timing, so close to the election, may limit its immediate impact. Nevertheless, there are signals that a more extensive, bipartisan investigation, potentially with involvement from state attorneys general, could occur in the future, irrespective of the election results.