US Justice Department hits Google with antitrust lawsuit

[The Buzz]

On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Justice sued Google for allegedly violating anti-trust law, accusing it of "maintaining an illegal monopoly over search and search and search advertising."

Google, which controls about 90% of the online search market in the U.S., is the “unchallenged gateway” to the internet and engaged in a variety of anti-competitive practices to maintain and extend its monopoly, the government said in a complaint filed Tuesday in Washington. The company has used exclusive deals costing billions of dollars to dominate search and lock out competition from rivals, the U.S. said.

Google is expected to put up a fight and will be able to spare no expense with its defense. Its parent, Alphabet, is one of the world’s wealthiest companies with a market value of about $1 trillion and projected 2020 sales of $142 billion.

From Bloomberg:

“No one can feasibly challenge Google’s dominance in search and search advertising,” Attorney General William Barr said. “If we let Google continue its anticompetitive ways, we will lose the next wave of innovators and Americans may never get to benefit from the ‘next Google.’”

The complaint is the first phase of what’s shaping up as a multi-pronged attack against Google. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is preparing a complaint against the company over its conduct in the digital-advertising market, where it controls much of the technology used by advertisers and publishers to buy and sell display ads across the web. A separate group of states, including Colorado and Iowa, is investigating Google’s search practices and said their probe will conclude in the coming weeks. A wave of private lawsuits is likely to follow the government’s case.

Google’s search business generates most of the company’s revenue and has funded its expansion into email, online video, smartphone software, maps, cloud computing, autonomous vehicles and display advertising. The search engine influences the fates of thousands of businesses online, which depend on Google to get in front of users.

Google called the government’s case “deeply flawed” and said it would actually hurt consumers because it would “artificially prop up” lower-quality search options and raise phone prices.

“People use Google because they choose to, not because they’re forced to, or because they can’t find alternatives,” Google Chief Legal Officer Kent Walker said in a blog post in response to the complaint.

Read more here: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...-landmark-case

[Cash Bonus]

It will be interesting to see how this obvious money grab attempt of a lawsuit plays out against Google. They'll probably just get a slap on the wrist for it at most.

[2GO]

This should be interesting to follow.

[Pokerface]

This will be interesting to follow and if it will lose steam with a new government in place.