Company: GOOGL
Filing Date: 2025-02-05
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0001652044-25-000014
Chunk: 104

Company: Alphabet Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-02-05
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1A
Chunk 104
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 U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that Google violated such antitrust laws. The Court is holding a separate proceeding to determine remedies, which could include alterations to our products and services and our business models and operations, including structural remedies, and/or our distribution arrangements, among other changes. While we plan to appeal, there can be no assurance that our appeal will succeed, or that we will be able to change or decrease the severity of any remedies that may be ordered, and any or all of these potential remedies could harm our business, reputation, financial condition, and operating results.

Also, in December 2023, a California jury delivered a verdict in Epic Games v. Google finding that Google violated antitrust laws relating to Google Play's business. The presiding judge issued a remedies decision in October 2024 that ordered a variety of alterations to our business models and operations and contractual agreements for Android and Google Play. We are appealing the verdict, but if we are unsuccessful, we could face significant expenses to implement the remedies, and such costs and alterations could harm our business, reputation, financial condition, and operating results.

Furthermore, in December 2020, several State Attorneys General, led by the Texas Attorney General, filed an antitrust lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas alleging that Google violated antitrust and other laws relating to its advertising technology. This case is set for trial in March 2025, and we could face significant civil penalties. In January 2023, the DOJ and several Attorneys General sued in the Eastern District of Virginia alleging similar antitrust violations relating to Google’s advertising technology. Trial in the DOJ matter concluded in September 2024 with a decision expected in early 2025. If we are unsuccessful, we could face an order on remedies that could harm our business, reputation, financial condition, and operating results. 

In addition to these regulatory proceedings, private individual and collective actions that overlap with claims pursued by regulators are pending in the U.S. and in several other jurisdictions. Adverse results in these or similar future lawsuits may include awards of monetary damages and remedies that could harm our business, reputation, financial condition, and operating results.

Other regulatory agencies in the U.S. and around the world, including competition enforcers, consumer protection agencies, and data protection authorities, have challenged and may continue to challenge our business practices and compliance with laws and regulations. We are cooperating with these investigations and defending litigation or appealing decisions where appropriate.

We are also subject to