Decision on Remedy for Google Search Monopoly Is Due Next Summer -- Barrons.com

Karishma Vanjani

Alphabet suffered a defeat last month when a judge said its Google business illegally monopolized the search market. Now, a decision on the consequences is expected in the summer of 2025.

At a status conference Friday afternoon, Judge Amit P. Mehta of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia said he intends to share the final decision on how to remedy Google's monopoly in search by early August, according to a report by the Washington Post.

He also asked the Justice Department to share its proposed remedies with Google as soon as possible in the coming months, the Washington Post report said. The New York Times reported that proposed remedies are due by the end of the year.

Google didn't immediately offer any additional guidance on the case or respond to Barron's queries on the timeline.

The decision comes after both sides failed to arrive at a resolution on when the Justice Department should disclose proposed remedies to Google during a meeting on Tuesday.

In a 30-page joint status report from the Justice Department and Google, the two parties offered opposing views on how the proceedings should unfold. Google said it wanted the proposed remedy to be disclosed on Sept. 20, while the Justice Department aimed for a Feb. 14 due date and suggested offering an initial list of potential remedies to the court on Oct. 15.

With the timeline now set, the focus shifts to effective implementation, which rivals emphasize as crucial. "While we're heartened by the decision, a strong remedy is critical," Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelman wrote in a blog post on Aug. 7, after the court ruling that Google was a monopolist. Stoppelman has advocated for breaking up Alphabet into separate units, a proposal previously suggested by former White House competition advisor Tim Wu.

Write to Karishma Vanjani at karishma.vanjani@dowjones.com.

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September 06, 2024 17:54 ET (21:54 GMT)

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