Texas Court Orders Google Executives to Testify in Antitrust Case

In a new development in the ongoing antitrust case against Google, three senior executives from Alphabet’s Google are scheduled to testify. This decision follows a ruling by Judge Sean D. Jordan of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, who found that the executives in question had relevant knowledge related to the case.

The executives to be removed are Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Google co-founder Sergey Brin and Neal Mohan, CEO of YouTube, a Google subsidiary.

According to Bloomberg, the ruling came after Google sought a protective order preventing the dismissal of top executives, arguing that doing so would be unjustified. However, Judge Jordan partially denied the request, siding with the coalition of plaintiff states led by Texas. The decision represents a tangible victory for Texas and a coalition of 16 other states that have accused Google of monopolistic practices in digital advertising markets.

Read more: Antitrust lawsuit against Google returns to Texas

The lawsuit, originally filed in 2020, alleged that Google engaged in anticompetitive behavior to dominate the online display advertising industry, thereby stifling competition and harming advertisers, publishers and small businesses. The Texas-led coalition says Google’s actions violate antitrust laws and are aimed at strengthening its control over the digital advertising ecosystem.

This case is one of three significant legal actions against Google’s digital advertising practices currently pending in U.S. federal courts. In addition to the Texas-led lawsuit, a separate, coordinated legal action is underway in Manhattan involving advertisers, publishers and small businesses with similar claims against Google. Moreover, last year the US Department of Justice filed a lawsuit in Alexandria, Virginia, also targeting Google’s digital advertising activities.

Source: Bloomberg Law News