How powerful should companies like Google, Amazon, Apple, Verizon, and the rest of Big Tech be?

That’s what’s at the center of the DOJ v. Google federal court trial, which could be the most important antitrust case of the century. If the DOJ wins this fight, it could finally put an end to Google’s monopolistic stranglehold on the internet.

Joined by eleven state attorneys general, the DOJ will argue that Google closed off competition by securing exclusive deals with tech platforms to squash competition. The DOJ says that Google started illegally maintaining a monopoly in the search engine space as early as 2010. They made exclusive deals with major tech platforms, like Apple’s iPhone and web browsers like Safari and its owned-and-operated properties like Chrome.

The lack of competition is a disaster for anyone who uses the internet.

They did not need to make a better product. Instead they forced rivals out of the market. And it’s why Google’s search engine has worsened over the past decade, with it now focusing more on delivering lucrative ads than useful information. Increasingly, search results point back to the company’s own products like YouTube, where Google can show more ads and gather more of your data.

The question of just how powerful companies like Google, Amazon, Apple, Verizon, and others are allowed to become hangs in the balance. But so far the court has allowed Google to keep the trial behind closed doors.

The reason, according to media reports, is that the judge overseeing the case doesn’t think the public is interested. Obviously, that’s a false premise. Transparency and public access are core to our democracy, especially in a huge case like this against one of the biggest companies in the world.

The future of the internet could hinge on this case. We must demand a full transparent live feed of this landmark trial. Judge Amit Mehta needs to hear from us right away. Urge the court to make a live feed of the trial available immediately by adding your name now.