Judge extends deadline to weigh in on Google’s digital book deal until Sept. 8

Judge extends deadline to debate Google book deal

NEW YORK — A federal judge has extended the deadline to support or protest a class-action settlement that would empower Google to add millions of out-of-print books to its already vast digital library.

The new deadline is 10 a.m. EDT on Tuesday.

The deadline had been Friday. But U.S. District Judge Denny Chin moved the date because the electronic document-filing system in his court was taken down for maintenance Thursday afternoon and will remain unavailable through the Labor Day weekend.

Google’s agreement with groups representing U.S. authors and publishers has provoked an impassioned debate over the future control of electronic books. U.S. antitrust regulators also are assessing whether the deal will hurt consumers.