- The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google.
- The lawsuit cites Google’s dominance in online search and search advertising.
It’s been a long time coming, but the US Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against Google, citing the search giant’s long-running dominance in online search and anti-competitive practices in search advertising.
Announced during a conference call early Tuesday morning, the DOJ, along with 11 US states, claimed Google has been unlawfully operating a monopoly in general search and search advertising “through a web of exclusionary agreements.” Google pays billions of dollars to other companies to maintain its place as the default search engine on various platforms, including Apple’s iPhones. The DOJ also cited Google’s requirement to load its own apps, which are undeletable, onto most Android phones.
As “the gateway to the internet,” the DOJ said Google’s anti-competitive practices are illegal under traditional antitrust principles. The department claimed if the US decides to forego an antitrust lawsuit now, “we could miss the next big wave of technology innovation.”
The DOJ mentioned that it has met with Google about steps that could be taken to resolve the so-called anti-competitive behaviors, though it couldn’t disclose any specific talks to journalists during the call.
The department’s investigation has been going on for over a year, so why would the government find it necessary to file a lawsuit just weeks before the United States general election? When prompted by a Financial Times reporter, the DOJ claimed it is important to move quickly as the technology market is fast-moving, and that the department moves ahead with lawsuits when it has enough facts to support doing so.
You can read the entire 57-page complaint here (h/t The Verge).
