The decision reflects Google’s goal of walling off the trial from the general public to shroud its deeply unpopular and damaging business practices.
WASHINGTON, DC— Today, The Tech Oversight Project issued the following statement regarding Judge Brinkema’s decision to strike the jury demand by the Department of Justice in its monopolization case against Google’s AdTech business.
“To be clear: the cashier’s check that Google cut the federal government for damages is an admission of guilt. It’s proof that Google illegally squeezed the federal government out of critically important tax dollars that went toward preventing suicide, increasing access to health care, bolstering our military, and keeping our roadways safe. It is ludicrous to think that Google could ever be the victim when people’s actual lives are at stake,” said Sacha Haworth, Executive Director of the Tech Oversight Project. “Google is running scared because they know just how blatantly obvious their monopoly power is and that a jury trial of ordinary citizens would be able to see through their scarecrow arguments and concern trolls. We commend Attorney General Merrick Garland, Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter, and the entire Biden Justice Department for taking on one of the most powerful monopolies in the world and for fighting to abolish Google’s tax on everyday goods and services that leads to higher prices. We look forward to them continuing to expose Google’s lies and holding them accountable throughout this process.”