The U.S. Department for Justice continues to assess the merger, but has not yet publicly stated its position on the proposed merger. The Justice Dept. still has the opportunity to block a merger from going ahead. Should the government department believe that the merger could harm other Android partners such as HTC or Samsung, or even the direct competition such as Apple, it could sue Google to prevent the case from going forward. Google recently said that it would treat Motorola Mobility as a third-party smartphone maker rather than a subsidiary of its parent company, in a bid to appease regulators that may see unfair advantage on the horizon. Related: