Competition Corner

While Google’s strategy eliminated the short-term risk of a potentially volatile jury, it exposed the company to a devastating, long-term issue preclusion risk. This article explains why Google’s bench-trial gamble backfired, and what antitrust defendants can learn from it.

The July 2025 decision by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Epic Games v. Google marks a landmark development in the ongoing evolution of antitrust remedies for unilateral conduct in the technology sector. The court’s willingness to affirm not just prohibitory, but also mandatory, forward-looking injunctions—requiring Google to take affirmative steps to open its Android app ecosystem to competition—signals a vigorous approach to restoring competition in digital platforms.

In another example of heightened antitrust enforcement by the Department of Justice (DOJ) under the Biden administration, on January 24, 2023, DOJ and eight states filed a civil antitrust lawsuit accusing Google of monopolizing multiple digital advertising technology (“ad tech”) products. The lawsuit reflects the continued antitrust focus at both the state and federal levels on Google.