What is at risk in the antitrust lawsuit against Google? Billions of money (as well as our online habits)

No way could Microsoft pull it off.

Mehta has kept his own cards close to the vest during the entire process. He told the two sides at the close of the trial last October that he was really undecided.

Mehta stated in November of last year, “I can tell you, as I sit here today, I have no idea what I’m going to do.”

Mehta continued this pattern on Thursday, pressing hard on both parties throughout the opening day of closing arguments.

Mehta once made the observation to Google lawyer John Schmidtlein that, in addition to spending billions on creating a competitive search engine, a potential competitor would also need to spend billions on competing with Google’s agreements with Apple and other companies in order to topple Google’s dominant position.

The people who drafted the Sherman Act should be concerned if that is all it takes for someone to overtake Google as the preferred search engine. Mehta asked, citing a significant antitrust statute in the US. “It’s unthinkable that another rival, especially a fresh one, could pull that off. No way could Microsoft pull it off.

Schmidtlein retorted that competitors are not protected by US antitrust law; rather, the competitive process is.

After this week’s arguments, it is unclear when District Judge Amit Mehta will make a ruling. However, if he takes the side of the US government and deems Google at fault, it would set off a different legal process to ascertain the possible fines Google would face.