Google antitrust battles will drag on for many years, CEO Sundar Pichai says

Google will be tied up in court for “many years” as it attempts to avoid a crackdown in a pair of major federal antitrust cases targeting its business model, CEO Sundar Pichai admitted in a new interview.US District Judge Amit Mehta ruled in August that Google operates an illegal monopoly over online search, where it controls a 90% share of the market.The case is currently in the remedy phase, with Mehta expected to decide on a punishment by next summer.When asked about the judge’s verdict during an upcoming episode of Bloomberg’s “The David Rubenstein Show: Peer to Peer Conversations.” Pichai said: “We definitely disagree with the ruling, but it’s still in the middle of the remedies phase.”“We will appeal and this process will likely take many years,” Pichai added.Elsewhere, Google is currently in court fighting a separate DOJ case alleging it operates a “trifecta of monopolies” through its control of digital ad platforms used by advertisers and publishers as well as an online marketplace that connects them.

It will likely be months before Judge Leonie Brinkema issues a ruling in that case.“Where we can figure out constructive solutions, I think we will,” Pichai said “Where we think it really harms our ability to innovate on behalf of our users, we are going to be vigorous in defending ourselves,” Pichai added.“It’s going to take time for it to play out.”Several Wall Street analysts have already warned that Google is unlikely to emerge unscathed from the antitrust clashes — with one telling clients that the tech firm is entering a period of “significant uncertainty” in the near term.Critics of the company argue an antitrust crackdown is essential to prevent Google from further entrenching its monopoly as it pours resources into artificial intelligence and other burgeoning technologies.Pichai downplayed the risk, arguing that regulatory scrutiny was inevitable given the company’s scale.He pointed out that a recent Eu...