US District Judge Amit Mehta in Washington said it will be almost three years before a trial begins in the Justice Department’s antitrust lawsuit alleging Google uses a web of exclusionary agreements and other tactics to preserve a monopoly for its flagship search engine and related advertising business, reported the Wall Street Journal.
Judge Mehta set a tentative trial date of Sept. 12, 2023, based on a lengthy proposed schedule laid out by the parties.
“If anybody thought we would be getting to trial quickly, this certainly will dispel that notion,” the judge said during a telephonic hearing.
A group of 11 state attorneys general joined with the Justice Department in filing the lawsuit in October. Three additional states, including California, have since moved to join it.
A separate group of 35 states, led by Colorado and Nebraska, filed broader but related antitrust claims against Google in a new lawsuit Thursday that also has been assigned to Judge Mehta. That case alleged the company is unlawfully leveraging its search dominance to limit consumers from using competing search engines, and to force businesses to use its proprietary advertising tools.
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