More On: Youtube
Inside an 80-square-foot, $650-a-month apartment in New York City
The head of business for YouTube quits while the site fights off TikTok
Minecraft YouTuber Technoblade died after being told he had cancer
Now, YouTube is blocking the House Jan. 6 committee because of 'misinformation'
Demi Lovato Says Their Family Has Made 'Progress' With Pronouns
It is the largest legal action ever taken in more than 20 years by the American federal government against one of the giants of the American 'Big Tech'. Faced with these lawsuits, confirmed to USA GAG by a source after revelations from the 'New York Times' and the 'Wall Street Journal', Google does not take offense.
The US Department of Justice will initiate proceedings against Google on Tuesday for infringement of competition law in an attempt to preserve its monopoly in the field of search and online advertising, told AFP a close judicial source folder.
These lawsuits, confirmed to AFP by the source after revelations from the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, represent the largest legal action in more than 20 years carried out by the American federal government against one of the giants of the American "Big Tech".
The complaint is expected to be filed in federal court in the US capital Washington DC.
The hypothesis of at least partial dismantling on the table
Contacted by AFP, the Ministry of Justice (DoJ) declined to comment, even though it organized a virtual briefing with journalists around 13:45 GMT on an antitrust action.
Google did not respond immediately.
The government's recommendations were not yet known, but they could include recommendations aimed at dismantling parts of the search engine giant.
A previous fine of 4.3 billion in 2018 for unfair practices
Google was fined 4.3 billion euros in 2018 from the European competition authorities for unfair practices in the Android ecosystem, in order to strengthen its dominant position, particularly in the area of search on Internet.
Like its competitors Amazon, Facebook and Apple, Google has been in the crosshairs of the American authorities for several years.
Prosecutors in almost every state in the US are on their heels
Various investigations have been launched against GAFA by federal agencies, parliamentary committees, and prosecutors in almost all US states.
At the political level, these groups have drawn the wrath of both conservative elected officials, who accuse them of partiality, and progressive elected officials, who are worried about infringements of competition law and the strengthening of inequalities caused by Big Tech.
Republican Missouri Senator Josh Hawley, very critical of the GAFA, welcomed the pending lawsuits from the US government, saying it would be "the largest abuse of dominance trial in a generation." .
Antitrust wants "structural" changes, Google rages on Twitter
US authorities on Tuesday called for "structural" changes at Google, which could pave the way for a dismantling of the group, in a complaint filed with a federal court in Washington accusing the tech giant of infringements of competition law .
The Department of Justice and eleven US states, mostly Republican including Texas and Florida, seek to prevent Google from "maintaining illegal monopolies in markets for general search services, ad searches, and general search for ads advertising in the United States, "according to the court document consulted by AFP.
Google described the legal action as "deeply flawed" in a tweet.
