Google pays preemptive damages to avoid US jury trial

Google parent company Alphabet has preemptively paid damages to the US government in an unusual move thought to be an attempt to avoid a jury trial.

It’s the latest move in the Justice Department’s antitrust lawsuit leveled at Google over its digital advertising business. The amount paid by the company has not been publicly disclosed but Google claims the amount is enough to cover the alleged overcharges on digital ads. The company is now arguing that the government has no right to a jury trial.