Google Faces November Deadline for Initial Response to US Antitrust Case

The US Justice Department sued Google on October 20, accusing the company of illegally using its market muscle to hobble rivals.

Google Faces November Deadline for Initial Response to US Antitrust Case

US Justice Department sued Google, accusing it of illegally using market muscle to hobble rivals

Highlights
  • Google must tell court how it will respond to lawsuit by November
  • US Justice Department sued Google on October 20
  • Govt alleges Google acted unlawfully to maintain its position in search
Advertisement

Alphabet's Google must tell a district court how it will respond to a federal antitrust lawsuit by mid-November, with the two sides making initial disclosures later in the month, US Judge Amit Mehta said in a brief order Friday.

The US Justice Department sued Google on October 20, accusing the $1 trillion (roughly Rs. 74,54,800 crores) company of illegally using its market muscle to hobble rivals in the biggest challenge to the power and influence of Big Tech in decades.

The federal government alleges that Google acted unlawfully to maintain its position in search as well as search advertising. Google has denied any wrongdoing.

In a status conference on Friday, John Schmidtlein, who represents Google, agreed to tell the US District Court for the District of Columbia by November 13 if the search and advertising giant planned to ask for the case to be thrown out on summary judgment.

Following a bit of sparring between lawyers for the government and Google, Judge Mehta said the two sides should make initial disclosures about potential witnesses and evidence that may be used at trial by November 20.

The judge asked the two sides to produce by November 6 a status report on a protective order, which would protect third parties like Google customers who provide evidence for the government.

The next status conference was set for November 18.

The judge, who was randomly selected, also disclosed personal links to Google, including a cousin who worked for the company and a friend who had been an executive there.

Mehta said he did not know his cousin's role at Google. "I will confess to you I don't know what he does," the judge said.

Google declined to confirm the cousin's identity or specify his role.

Antitrust experts have said Mehta, who was nominated to the Washington court by President Barack Obama, was a good pick for the government because he is not seen as pro-business.

Judges' familial connections sometimes are challenged by parties in a lawsuit when seeking a different judge. It is unclear whether Google, or the government, would try to get Mehta to recuse himself.

US law requires a judge disqualify "himself in any proceeding in which his impartiality might reasonably be questioned." The law cites situations such as where "a person within the third degree of relationship" to the judge or the judge's spouse is an officer or director of the company, a potential material witness or someone who could be "substantially affected" by the case.

© Thomson Reuters 2020


Are iPhone 12 mini, HomePod mini the Perfect Apple Devices for India? We discussed this on Orbital, our weekly technology podcast, which you can subscribe to via Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or RSS, download the episode, or just hit the play button below.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.
Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.

Further reading: Google, Alphabet, US Antitrust Case
Russian Hackers Said to Have Targeted California, Indiana Democratic Parties
Share on Facebook Gadgets360 Twitter Share Tweet Snapchat Share Reddit Comment google-newsGoogle News
 
 

Advertisement

Follow Us

Advertisement

© Copyright Red Pixels Ventures Limited 2024. All rights reserved.
Trending Products »
Latest Tech News »