Judge to hear arguments over protective order in DOJ suit against Google

A judge on Monday said he would hear arguments regarding the protection of confidential information in the Justice Department’s antitrust lawsuit filed against Google. 

U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta directed the government and Google to by Friday “position statements outlining their respective positions on the disputed terms of a protective order” regarding confidential information, Reuters reported.  

The government and Google on Friday had said they failed to reach an agreement on how to protect confidential information given to the government by third parties, the newswire noted. 

The Justice Department last month charged Google with illegally maintaining a monopoly on search and search advertising. The suit followed a yearlong investigation into concentrations of economic power in the online economy. 

The Justice Department argues that the tech giant entered into exclusionary contracts with phone makers to preload its search engine onto devices that use Alphabet’s android operating system. The lawsuit contends that those contracts allowed Google to maintain a monopoly while stifling competition and innovation. 

Mehta set a Nov. 18 status conference on the lawsuit, according to Reuters.