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Federal and state authorities are mulling antitrust lawsuits against Google after investigating the tech giant’s dominance of online advertising, reports say. The US Department of Justice could sue Google as soon as this summer, while a group of state attorneys general separately probing the company may bring their own case by the fall, according to …
Federal and state authorities are mulling antitrust lawsuits against Google after investigating the tech giant’s dominance of online advertising, reports say.
The US Department of Justice could sue Google as soon as this summer, while a group of state attorneys general separately probing the company may bring their own case by the fall, according to multiple reports.
The lawsuits would come roughly a year after the authorities launched their respective investigations of Google — amid concerns about the company squashing competition.
“Our antitrust investigation into Google has not been slowed down by the coronavirus pandemic,” Texas attorney general Ken Paxton, who is spearheading the state-level probe, said in a statement. “We hope to have the investigation wrapped up by fall. If we determine that filing is merited, we will go to court soon after that.”
While the state AGs have largely focused on Google’s advertising business, the Justice Department has expanded its probe to examine concerns about the dominance of its internet search segment, according to The Wall Street Journal, which first reported Friday on the likelihood of legal action.
It’s uncertain whether the states will bring their own suit or join the feds’ case once it’s underway, the paper reported. Federal and state authorities started sharing information about their probes earlier this year.
Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday morning, but the company told other outlets that it is continuing to work with investigators.
“Our focus is firmly on providing services that help consumers, support thousands of businesses and enable increased choice and competition,” Google spokeswoman Julie Tarallo McAlister told The Washington Post.
The Federal Trade Commission closed an antitrust probe of Google in 2013 without bringing a lawsuit. But European Union officials slapped the California-based giant with a $5 billion fine in 2018 for anti-competitive behavior related to its Android operating system for smartphones.
The House Judiciary Committee has also launched an investigation of competition in digital markets that has focused on Google, Amazon, Apple and Facebook.
Shares in Google parent company Alphabet were down 0.5 percent at $1,366.00 in pre-market trading just before 9 a.m. Monday.
With Post wires
