US Federal Judge Amit Mehta, who found Google guilty of illegally monopolizing the search engine market, announced that he would rule on punishing the search giant by August 2025.
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During a hearing on Friday in Washington, D.C., a judge set deadlines for the defense phase of the antitrust litigation. Prosecutors have until the end of the year to submit their proposals, which could involve Google paying billions to Apple in exchange for priority placement of the search engine on its devices. In this regard, the cooperation of the two companies is under threat, although Apple admitted that there is currently no alternative to Google search.
Prosecutors could also potentially force Google to split up its business and sell part of it as part of measures to restore competition in the search market.
As TechCrunch noted, a lot can change in a year, especially given the upcoming presidential elections in the United States. Presidential candidates are reportedly being asked to overhaul the harsh US regulatory environment, which is currently being discussed in the corridors of power. The outcome of the Google antitrust case depends on what those discussions come to.