Judge Amit P. Mehta challenged the closing arguments in a landmark monopoly case against Google, potentially reshaping the tech industry.
Mehta questioned the government's assertion that Google's dominance harmed search quality, but also pushed Google to defend its claim of not being a monopoly due to competition from companies like Amazon and TikTok.
His ruling, expected in the coming weeks or months, will set a precedent for government challenges to tech giants' size and power.
Mehta began proceedings by questioning the Justice Department's lead attorney on search innovation, acknowledging advancements but finding it challenging to conclude that Google hadn't innovated enough.
Mehta also discussed privacy concerns, noting the potential trade-off with search quality and the challenge of measuring Google's privacy protections.
He challenged Google's argument that Amazon and ESPN were true competitors, citing the likelihood of using Google to find historical baseball information.