Update, December 17 (14:30 pm ET): A third lawsuit is being filed by eight U.S. states over similar allegations of unfair competitive practices.
What you need to know
- Google is being sued by several state attorneys for its ad practices.
- Accusations point to Google maintaining an illegal monopoly on online ads in search results.
- This is not the only lawsuit that Google is facing for similar allegations.
State attorneys on Wednesday announced that they plan to launch an antitrust lawsuit against Google, claiming that the tech giant holds an illegal monopoly over online ads. The suit is being led by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, which he announced on Twitter stating that it "isn't fair that Google effectively eliminated its competition and crowned itself the head of online advertising."
#BREAKING: Texas takes the lead once more! Today, we're filing a lawsuit against #Google for anticompetitive conduct.
This internet Goliath used its power to manipulate the market, destroy competition, and harm YOU, the consumer. Stay tuned… pic.twitter.com/fdEVEWQb0e#BREAKING: Texas takes the lead once more! Today, we're filing a lawsuit against #Google for anticompetitive conduct.
This internet Goliath used its power to manipulate the market, destroy competition, and harm YOU, the consumer. Stay tuned… pic.twitter.com/fdEVEWQb0e— Texas Attorney General (@TXAG) December 16, 2020December 16, 2020
Paxton likened the market to a baseball game, where Google "positioned itself as the pitcher, the batter and the umpire." The company is said to have too much control over the ads that appear when consumers browse through search results. Several Republican states are joining in on the lawsuit, which is one of few antitrust suits that Google is facing.
In October, the Justice Department officially filed a lawsuit over Google antitrust allegations regarding its search and advertisement practices. It was claimed that Google's search engine is effectively "forced" upon consumers by being made the default on a number of devices such as Apple's popular iPhones as well as Android's best phones, among plenty others. We have a rundown of that particular Google antitrust suit if it starts getting confusing.
This suit also comes after the UK announced new regulations to tighten its control over Google and Facebook, the latter of which is also facing its own growing number of antitrust suits, including one that may force it to give up ownership of Instagram and WhatsApp.
A third Google antitrust lawsuit, this time lead by Colorado attorney general, Phil Weiser, is expected as early as Thursday.
Update, December 17 (14:30 pm ET) ― A third lawsuit is being filed by eight U.S. states over similar allegations of unfair competitive practices.
A new lawsuit is being filed by 38 state attorneys across eight states, mirroring the previous Google antitrust suits that were already announced by the Justice Department and 11 other states. A statement from the office of Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser similarly claims Google holds an illegal monopoly over online ads.
Google's acquisition and command of vast amounts of data obtained because of consumers' lack of choice has fortified Google's monopolies and created new barriers to competition and consumer value.
States involved in this new suit may choose to combine their case with that of the Justice Department's, and are deciding whether or not to join the Texas-led suit as well.
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