The US witnessed one of the largest tech trials in history last year. The trial started back in September, and the main part of it ended in November. What was left in the trial were closing arguments from both Google and DOJ sides, which wrapped on May 3. We’ve had two days of them.
Google vs DOJ trial wrapped with closing arguments, we’re waiting for Judge Mehta’s ruling
Everything is in the hands of Judge Amit Mehta now. A ruling is expected later this year, though we’re not sure when exactly will that be. Even though the majority of the trial was closed to the public, a lot of details surfaced. We’ve been covering the trial consistently.
The trial wrapped with the Department of Justice and plaintiff states arguments on Thursday and Friday. Thursday’s arguments focused on Google’s alleged anticompetitive conduct in the general search market. On Friday we saw a focus on Google’s allegedly illegal conduct in search advertising. Google was also under fire from the DOJ over some chat messages that were not revealed and could have been relevant to the case.
As many of you know by now, the government is trying to show that “Google locked up key distribution channels for the general search engine market”, as The Verge put it. That managed to block its rivals from growing, in a way.
If Google is found guilty, major fine & changes are expected
If Judge Mehta agrees with the DOJ, in the end, Google’s behavior will be considered anticompetitive, and that could bring major changes to the table. Google will also face a major fine.
Google’s lead litigator, John Schmidtlein, disagreed with the DOJ’s arguments in the case. He said that “Google has won with a superior product”. Judge Amit Mehta said that the “importance and significance of this case is not lost” on him, and that he realizes it will not only affect Google, but the public as well.
As already mentioned, Judge Amit Mehta did not provide a timeline for his decision. It is expected at some point in 2024, but we’ll simply have to wait. He has a major decision on his hands.
