Several US states file another monopoly lawsuit against Google
Several states in the United States, led by Texas, announced on Wednesday the filing of a new complaint against Google for alleged anti-competitive practices. It’s the second antitrust case that the internet giant must face in the country after the federal government.
Ken Paxton, Texas Attorney General, Republican, posted a video on Twitter. He stated that he is proud to announce that Texas and several states have sued Google for anti-competitive conduct, exclusionary practices and misleading information.
Today’s lawsuit focuses on the technology that the world’s most widely used search engine company uses to connect buyers of online ad space with sellers. Paxton believes that it allows it to control the prices of online ads.
The lawsuit was announced as a joint effort by several states. However, the exact number of states that have joined the case outside of Texas is unknown at this time.
On October 20, the United States Department of Justice and eleven states – including Texas – already filed a historic lawsuit against Google for its search engine’s alleged monopolistic practices. According to it, 80% of searches are carried out on computers and 90% on mobiles.
After a year of investigations, the complaint was announced. The company directed by Sundar Pichai was accused of having used illegal actions to occupy a position of dominance in the market and prevent its competitors’ access (such as Yahoo, Bing and DuckDuckGo) to the main distribution channels.
Besides, the Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit against Facebook on November 9, also for alleged anti-competitive practices.
In addition to Google and Facebook, two other tech giants, Apple and Amazon, also have open antitrust investigations against them by US authorities.
Google fears losing revenue from an antitrust lawsuit
Google admits that antitrust investigations in Europe, the United States, and other jurisdictions put its business practices ანდ its business model at risk. The company submitted documentation to the SEC. It admitted that beyond the possible sanctions, as a result of various investigations, including lawsuits for patent and copyright infringement, the search engine may have to change its business practices and develop products or non-infringing technologies. It could result in a loss of revenue for the company and thereby harm our business.
The company is waiting for how the judicial process advances in the North American market. Meanwhile, there is already a precedent in the European Union. Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager has imposed fines totalling more than €8 billion on Google in the last two years.
Google also mentioned that it continues to cooperate with federal and state regulators in the United States and with other regulators globally.
