Google rejects public access to antitrust proceedings in Washington court

Groups behind the transparency motion say, they want the audio broadcast of the unsealed, public portions of trial to be available to the public

WASHINGTON – Google, which is currently facing antitrust proceedings in a Washington court, has refused public access to the court proceedings.

In a recent hearing, Google’s counsel opposed a motion to allow public access to an audio broadcast of the trial through platforms such as Zoom, citing administrative challenges and concerns about sensitive information.

“I think we’re going to have some non-insubstantial chunks or portions of the trial that are going to have to be in closed court,” said Google attorney John Schmidtlein, claiming that allowing a public audio feed would make it “really difficult” to prevent the release of sensitive information.

 The groups behind the transparency motion clarified that they only want the audio broadcast of the unsealed, public portions of the trial to be available to the public.

Katherine Van Dyck, senior counsel at the American Economic Liberties Project, said that “while ordinary Americans can get their whole lives exposed in court, a trillion-dollar company is opposed to an accessible public trial and attempting to shroud their own proceedings in secrecy.”

Judge Amit Mehta has not yet decided on whether to allow the audio broadcast.

The antitrust case against Google was brought by the U.S. Justice Department and the attorneys general of 11 states, who accuse the tech giant of maintaining monopolies in the markets for search queries and search advertising.

Google’s parent company, Alphabet, has a market capitalization of $1.7 trillion and faces accusations of abusing its power to suppress competitors.

The case recently moved forward despite Google’s objections, dismissing some of the government’s claims, particularly those related to Google’s search engine design.

However, the main allegation, that Google’s overall business practices violate antitrust law, remains before the courts.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai is expected to testify during the trial. This also involves the accusation that Google has maintained its search monopoly through agreements with Apple.

According to the Department of Justice, Google currently controls around 88% of the US search market.

Critics argue that Google’s resistance to public access to the trial contrasts with the transparency that ordinary people often face in court.