Antitrust Judge to Google: Let the DOJ Decide If Consumers Are Harmed

Reuters reported this afternoon that US District Judge Kathleen Kollar-Kotelly - who nearly five years ago was at the center of the spotlight as the second district judge in the Microsoft antitrust trial - stated Google is not a party to that case. In response to an amicus brief Google filed yesterday, pleading with the judge to extend the term of Microsoft's antitrust provision decree by two years, she reportedly advised Google to deal directly with the Justice Dept.

It's the DOJ, not the district court, Reuters quotes Judge Kollar-Kotelly as saying, which represents the consumers in this case. As BetaNews reported yesterday, a memo to the public written on the day of her 2002 ruling explained that the Justice Dept. would be commissioned to monitor and enforce Microsoft's behavior, especially since the two parties at that time were willing to reach a settlement. Since the court doesn't monitor Microsoft's behavior, the judge said today, it's the wrong party to complain to.

"I do rely on the plaintiffs as the representative of consumers," Reuters quotes Judge Kollar-Kotelly as saying.

However, she did not apparently rule out the prospects of extending the term of the two parties' five-year antitrust settlement provision term, which is set to expire on November 12. Most likely, she would act on the recommendations of the Justice Dept., whose relationship with Microsoft right now is on a high point.

While the DOJ's Technical Committee overseeing the compliance of Microsoft's software with the settlement degree continues to make suggestions regarding necessary changes, the last joint status report from the DOJ and Microsoft states apparently all of those suggestions are being implemented in updates to Windows Media Player, Windows Live Messenger, other middleware products, and in Windows XP Service Pack 3, the code for which should be made available for the TC's review no later than this September.