Sundar Pichai, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Alphabet (GOOG/GOOGL) says it will likely take years to resolve U.S. antitrust actions brought against the Google parent company.
In a television interview, Pichai said that the antitrust action by the U.S. government does not pose an immediate threat to the company known for its online search engine.
“It’s going to take time for it to play out,” said Pichai. “And we are going to be vigorous in defending ourselves.”
Alphabet is currently involved in two separate antitrust actions brought against it by the U.S. Justice Department, which alleges the tech giant illegally dominates the online search market.
Alphabet lost the first case in court this summer, though a verdict isn’t expected until late next year, at the earliest, followed by what’s expected to be a lengthy appeals process.
Specifically, the Justice Department alleges that Google violated U.S. antitrust laws by building a monopoly over web advertising technology.
The government has said it wants to break-up Alphabet and force it to sell some of its assets. Alphabet has argued there is lots of competition from rivals such as Microsoft (MSFT) and Meta Platforms (META).
In the TV interview, Pichai noted that it took four years to resolve a $1.7 billion U.S. antitrust fine levied against Alphabet by the European Union.
The stock of Alphabet has risen 23% in the last 12 months and currently trades at $161.49 U.S. per share.
