Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

India-born Judge to hear case against Google in the US

INDIA-BORN US district judge Amit Mehta will preside over the justice department’s crucial lawsuit against Google in which the internet search giant's business model based on free services and advertising will be put to the test.

The lawsuit filed on Tuesday(20) accuses Alphabet's Google of illegally using its market muscle to hobble rivals like Microsoft's Bing in search and search advertising.


Mehta was appointed to the US district court for the district of Columbia on December 22, 2014, by former US president Barack Obama.

Born in Patan, Gujarat, Mehta received his BA in Political Science and Economics from Georgetown University in 1993 and his JD from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1997.

According to reports the selection of Mehta to hear the case suggests a tough courtroom battle ahead for the $1-trillion search and advertising company.

Mehta is not seen as pro-business or favorable to monopolies, said Sally Hubbard, who advocates for tougher antitrust enforcement at the Open Markets Institute.

"We have a judge that is not hostile to antitrust, so this is a really good moment for the case," she said.

Google had no comment on Mehta's selection. The search and advertising company has called the lawsuit "deeply flawed," adding that people "use Google because they choose to - not because they're forced to or because they can't find alternatives."

Sam Weinstein, who teaches antitrust at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, noted that Mehta had ruled for the government in blocking the merger of Sysco and US Foods in 2015, shortly after he was confirmed in late 2014. The deal was abandoned.

Andre Barlow of the law firm Doyle, Barlow & Mazard PLLC, agreed that Mehta's selection was "good news for the government" but warned that the case against Google is a monopolisation case, which tend to be harder to win than merger cases.

Legal experts point to the fact that it may be difficult to show Google's conduct was illegal under the longstanding "consumer welfare" standard in monopoly cases because its services are largely free.

Avery Gardiner, a former US antitrust enforcement lawyer who researches competition for the Center for Democracy & Technology, said the government appears to be skirting the question of whether Google benefits consumers by offering free services.

The lawsuit "basically ignores price and focuses on quality and innovation," she said.

Data provided by the justice department showed Google controls 88 per cent of US search queries, with the share in the mobile market at 94 per cent, and argued that Google reinforces it monopoly with its "exclusionary" deals.

With a market value over $1 trillion, Google generated $161 billion in revenue last year, the bulk of which comes from digital advertising including messages linked to people's search queries.

More For You

ve-day-getty

VE Day 80 street parties, picnics and community get togethers are being encouraged to take place across the country as part of the Great British Food Festival. (Photo: Getty Images)

Public invited to attend VE Day 80 procession and flypast

THE 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE) Day will be marked with a military procession in London on May 5.

The event will include over 1,300 members of the Armed Forces, youth groups, and uniformed services marching from Parliament Square to Buckingham Palace.

Keep ReadingShow less
Knife crimes

Knife-enabled crimes include cases where a blade or sharp instrument was used to injure or threaten, including where the weapon was not actually seen.

Getty Images/iStockphoto

Knife crime in London accounts for a third of national total: ONS

KNIFE-RELATED crime in London made up almost a third of all such offences recorded in England and Wales in 2024, with the Metropolitan Police logging 16,789 incidents, according to figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Thursday.

This amounts to one offence every 30 minutes in the capital and represents 31 per cent of the 54,587 knife-enabled crimes reported across England and Wales last year. The total number marks a two per cent rise from 53,413 offences in 2023.

Keep ReadingShow less
Starmer and Modi

Starmer and Modi shake hands during a bilateral meeting in the sidelines of the G20 summit at the Museum of Modern Art in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Brazil, on November 18, 2024.

Getty Images

Starmer calls Modi over Kashmir attack; expresses condolences

PRIME MINISER Keir Starmer spoke to Indian prime minister Narendra Modi on Friday morning following the deadly attack in Kashmir’s Pahalgam region that killed 26 people on Tuesday.

According to a readout from 10 Downing Street, Starmer said he was horrified by the devastating terrorist attack and expressed deep condolences on behalf of the British people to those affected, their loved ones, and the people of India. The two leaders agreed to stay in touch.

Keep ReadingShow less
 Post Office Horizon

A Post Office van parked outside the venue for the Post Office Horizon IT inquiry at Aldwych House on January 11, 2024 in London, England. (Photo: Getty Images)

Getty Images

Post Office spent £600m to keep Horizon despite plans to replace it: Report

THE POST OFFICE has spent more than £600 million of public funds to continue using the Horizon IT system, according to a news report.

Despite deciding over a decade ago to move away from the software, the original 1999 contract with Fujitsu prevented the Post Office from doing so, as it did not own the core software code, a BBC investigation shows.

Keep ReadingShow less
Pahalgam attack: Prayer meet held at Indian mission in London

The prayer meet was led by Indian High Commissioner to the UK Vikram Doraiswami

Pahalgam attack: Prayer meet held at Indian mission in London

Mahesh Liloriya

A PRAYER meet was held at the Gandhi Hall in the High Commission of India in London on Thursday (24) to pay respects to the victims of the Pahalgam terrorist attack.

Chants of ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ rang out at the event which was led by Indian High Commissioner to the UK Vikram Doraiswami.

Keep ReadingShow less