The US Department of Justice filed on Tuesday a long-anticipated lawsuit against Google, alleging the sprawling tech giant illegally holds monopolies in search and …
The US Department of Justice filed on Tuesday a long-anticipated lawsuit against Google, alleging the sprawling tech giant illegally holds monopolies in search and search advertising. The suit, joined by 11 state attorneys general, alleges Google broke antitrust law by cutting deals with Apple and Samsung to be the default search engine on their devices, a move that blocked competitors. Google, owned by Alphabet, also used the dominance of its Android operating system to pressure device makers to preload Google apps on their phones, the lawsuit says. „If the government does not enforce the antitrust laws to enable competition, we could lose the next wave of innovation,“ US Deputy Attorney General Jeff Rosen told reporters during a conference call. „If that happens, Americans may never get to see the next Google.“ The lawsuit is the culmination of a more than yearlong investigation into the search giant’s practices. Alphabet’s businesses include web searches, maps, the YouTube video platform and the Android mobile operating system. Many of its services rack up more than a billion users a month. Google denied it has engaged in anticompetitive behavior. „Today’s lawsuit by the Department of Justice is deeply flawed,“ a company spokesperson said in a statement. „People use Google because they choose to — not because they’re forced to or because they can’t find alternatives.“ The action isn’t the first time Google has come under antitrust scrutiny. In 2013, the Federal Trade Commission wrapped up a two-year investigation into Google after allegations of biased search results. The agency, however, concluded that Google hadn’t violated antitrust laws. The DOJ lawsuit comes as tech giants face a reckoning over their scale and influence. Legislators and regulators are concerned about how their power might ultimately harm consumers, especially by choking off competition from smaller players in Silicon Valley. Apple, Amazon and Facebook are also under investigation by federal regulators and lawmakers. In July, Google CEO Sundar Pichai appeared virtually at a hearing before the House Judiciary antitrust subcommittee, alongside Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and Apple CEO Tim Cook. Several areas of Google’s business are being scrutinized. Here’s what you need to know about the tech giant’s antitrust battles: Google’s dominance in web search, digital advertising and smartphone software are the primary areas of interest to lawmakers and regulators. The company processes around 90% of all online searches in the US. That stranglehold is the foundation of Google’s massive advertising business, which generates almost all of the company’s $160 billion in annual sales. Google has been accused of hurting competitors by giving priority in its search results to its own products, like shopping ads or local business listings, over the listings of rivals.
