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, October 30.
The US Justice Department sued Google on October 20, accusing the US$1 trillion company of illegally using its market muscle to hobble rivals in the biggest challenge to the power and influence of Big Tech in decades,reported Reuters.
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.
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