DENVER (AP) – Dozens more states join an escalating effort to prove that Google is methodically abusing its power as the main gateway to the Internet in a way that hurts consumers who usually enter personal information into the search engine and advertisers that billions putting dollars into the search engine. extensive marketing network.
The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Washington on Thursday by attorneys general of 35 states as well as the District of Columbia and the territories of Guam and Puerto Rico. It seems likely to be combined with a similar complaint from the US Department of Justice in late October, which also seeks to defuse Google’s dominance in online search and digital advertising.
“Consumers are denied the benefits of competition, including the possibility of higher quality services and better privacy protections. Advertisers are harmed by lower quality and higher prices which are in turn passed on to consumers,” Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser said at the meeting. announcement the action.
In a blog post, Google’s economic policy director, Adam Cohen, said that large companies need to be scrutinized and that Google is willing to answer questions about how it works.
“But this lawsuit is designed to redesign the search function so that Americans would not get useful information and businesses would no longer be able to interact directly with customers. We look forward to taking that case to court, while we remain focused on delivering a high-quality search experience for our users, ”he said.
The case is the third antitrust salvo that Google has knocked down with a slap in the past two months, as the U.S. Department of Justice and attorneys general from across the U.S. give their views on their different variations on how they think the company is misused immense power to do bad things that harm other companies, innovation and even consumers, who find its services indispensable.
“There hasn’t been a cluster of cases of this significance since the 1970s,” said William Kovacic, a law professor at George Washington University and former chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, noting the recent wave of antitrust action by the states, the Justice Department. and the FTC. “This is a big deal.”
The DOJ filed an antitrust suit against AT&T in 1974 that led to its breakup.
In many ways, the wave of US antitrust cases represents an attempt to catch up with European regulators who have been trying to crack down on Google in recent years, usually with hefty fines, with little noticeable effect so far.
The latest lawsuit echoes the federal government’s allegations. But it goes beyond them by trying to prevent Google from becoming dominant in the latest generation of technology, such as voice assistant devices and internet-connected cars, and by claiming that the company is discriminating against specialist search engines that offer travel and home repairs. and entertainment services, and denies competitors such as Bing access to its search ad management tool, SA360.
To the detriment of competitors and consumers, Google has strayed from its original motto ‘Don’t be evil’ by showing naked greed and disregard for the law in its pursuit of absolute market dominance.
–Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes
The lawsuit was joined by attorneys general of Alaska, Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
“To the detriment of competitors and consumers, Google has strayed from its original motto ‘Don’t be evil’ by showing naked greed and disregard for the law in its pursuit of absolute market dominance,” Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes said in a statement Thursday. “Rather than relying on innovation and merit in an open market, Google has chosen to quell all competition with a coordinated scheme that few people understand.”
The attorneys general have been working with the Department of Justice to flesh out their case and are asking that their case be combined with the department’s lawsuit so that those more forward-looking claims can go through, said Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller.
“This will be a concerted effort,” he said.
Public Citizen, a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization, welcomed that latest lawsuit.
“Google has built a monopoly in online advertising that is unfair, excludes competitors and drives up prices. And with its control over its search engine, Google has managed to unfairly filter out listings for competitors while promoting its own businesses,” said Alex Harman, an advocate of competition policy for the group.
On Wednesday, 10 states led by Republican Attorneys General filed a lawsuit against Google, accusing Google of “anti-competitive behavior” in the online ad industry, including a deal to manipulate sales with rival Facebook. It focused on the heart of Google’s business – the digital ads that generate almost all of its revenue, as well as all the money that its parent company, Alphabet Inc., depends on to help fund a range of widespread technology projects.
Liedtke reported from San Ramon, California. Marcy Gordon, Associated Press author, contributed to this report from Washington.
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