The federal judge overseeing US et al v. Google says documents used during the trial can be posted online at the end of each day, resolving a weeklong dispute
- DOJ, Google disputed how quickly to post court exhibits online — Judge says access should happen ‘as soon as it is reasonable’
The decision matters beyond a single filing fight: later coverage described continued concern that the court was granting Google redactions and private testimony, making the daily-publication standard a meaningful reference point in the case's openness debate.
First-order effects
Journalists, researchers, and the public can review trial exhibits on a same-day cadence rather than waiting through an unresolved access dispute.
Google and the DOJ must operationalize faster exhibit review and release, with confidential material needing to be identified before each day's documents are posted.
Second-order effects
Faster access lets outside observers assess testimony and documentary evidence while the trial is underway, increasing scrutiny of how both Google and the DOJ frame the case.
The ruling narrows the practical advantage of delayed disclosure, though later redaction and closed-testimony decisions show that access can still be limited exhibit by exhibit.
Third-order effects
If courts apply similar schedules in major platform cases, antitrust litigation may become more legible in real time without eliminating legitimate confidentiality protections.
The enduring tension is likely to be procedural: courts will have to define what review time is reasonable as companies seek to protect sensitive business records and enforcement agencies seek public accountability.
The trend: This is one data point in the push to make high-stakes technology antitrust proceedings more transparent while preserving narrowly tailored confidentiality safeguards.
Alright, the update we've all been waiting for on USvGoogle trial exhibit issue: Judge Amit Mehta in the @Google monopoly trial says, exhibits are presumptively postable. But a third party can object to a certain exhibit being posted by 9 pm (4 hours after trial ends) #antitrust
Here here. Appreciated the transparency from the court's thinking, too. His point that presumably the lawyers to the parties were already familiar with the docs and redactions going into their admission so it shouldn't take much time as they have ahead start.
Actually landed on 9pm. And some discussion about any unresolved being solved by next day. Very well done, Leah. Your speaking out was important here for public interest. Court also reminded DOJ they need to actually object as he's relying on them to represent public interest.
Google and third-parties will then have a three-hour window to raise any issues before DOJ can post the exhibits online. Judge Mehta asked how that would affect exhibits that have been previously admitted but are not yet posted. He clarified that he did not order
@leah_nylen He later changed it to 9 pm. DOJ must disclose all exhibits they want to post by 6 pm. Parties get three hours to raise objections. If there are none, they go up at/around 9 pm.
Judge Mehta allows public exhibits from Google trial to go back up on DOJ's website as long as they're cleared by Google first without objection; judge also says he never forced DOJ to take down the public documents that had previously been posting
Judge Mehta also just addressed the issue of the public posting of exhibits, which the parties submitted the filings on last night. Going forward, it seems like Google and interested third-parties will receive the exhibits DOJ wants to post at the end of each day of trial.
Big news: Judge Amit Mehta says all exhibits in the US v. Google trial will be “presumptively postable” unless one of the parties objects to them by 8 PM every night.
Hey DOJ team in Google Search antitrust trial - based on Judge Mehta comments at close of trial today, you should be filing a motion pronto to unseal the improperly closed trial testimony from the Apple witness on Friday.