The US Department of Justice, along with eleven state Attorneys General, filed a civil antitrust lawsuit in the US District Court for the District of Columbia against Google today (October 20).
The lawsuit alleges that Google is “unlawfully maintaining monopolies through anticompetitive and exclusionary practices in the search and search advertising markets”.
The participating states include Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, South Carolina, and Texas.
As one of “the wealthiest companies on the planet” with a market value of $1 trillion, “Google is the monopoly gatekeeper to the internet for billions of users and countless advertisers worldwide,” claims the DOJ’s lawsuit.
It adds that Google has accounted for almost 90% of all search queries in the United States “for years” and has used “anticompetitive tactics to maintain and extend its monopolies in search and search advertising”.
Elsewhere in the complaint, Google is alleged to have entered into a series of exclusionary agreements that collectively “lock up the primary avenues through which users access search engines, and thus the internet”.
It supposedly achieves this by requiring that Google be set as the preset default general search engine on billions of mobile devices and computers worldwide and, in many cases, prohibiting preinstallation of a competitor.
The lawsuit also alleges that Google has unlawfully maintained monopolies in search and search advertising by:
- “Entering into exclusivity agreements that forbid preinstallation of any competing search service.
- “Entering into tying and other arrangements that force preinstallation of its search applications in prime locations on mobile devices and make them undeletable, regardless of consumer preference.
- “Entering into long-term agreements with Apple that require Google to be the default – and de facto exclusive – general search engine on Apple’s popular Safari browser and other Apple search tools.
- “Generally using monopoly profits to buy preferential treatment for its search engine on devices, web browsers, and other search access points, creating a continuous and self-reinforcing cycle of monopolization.”
“This lawsuit strikes at the heart of Google’s grip over the internet for millions of American consumers, advertisers, small businesses and entrepreneurs beholden to an unlawful monopolist.”
Attorney General William Barr
“Today, millions of Americans rely on the Internet and online platforms for their daily lives. Competition in this industry is vitally important, which is why today’s challenge against Google — the gatekeeper of the Internet — for violating antitrust laws is a monumental case both for the Department of Justice and for the American people,” said Attorney General William Barr.
“Since my confirmation, I have prioritized the Department’s review of online market-leading platforms to ensure that our technology industries remain competitive.
“This lawsuit strikes at the heart of Google’s grip over the internet for millions of American consumers, advertisers, small businesses and entrepreneurs beholden to an unlawful monopolist.”
You can read Barr’s statement in full, here.
Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey A. Rosen, added: “As with its historic antitrust actions against AT&T in 1974 and Microsoft in 1998, the Department is again enforcing the Sherman Act to restore the role of competition and open the door to the next wave of innovation – this time in vital digital markets.”Music Business Worldwide
