Google heads to court in a landmark trial that puts its search business in the crosshairs. Here's what's at stake.

• Google and the Department of Justice are heading to court in a blockbuster antitrust case.
• It revolves around how Google pays partners to promote its search engine on their products.
• A law expert said the DOJ has a "pretty strong" case but has big hurdles to prove Google is liable.

Almost three years after the Department of Justice sued Google for allegedly maintaining a monopoly in search, the tech giant is headed to trial to defend its position.

The DOJ filed a lawsuit against Google in October 2020 that accused it of using "anticompetitive and exclusionary practices" to maintain its online search dominance.