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According to the BBC, the lawsuit is the most important move by US regulators against a tech giant in recent years. The lawsuit is the result of an investigation that has spanned more than a year and unfolds at a time when major tech companies are facing scrutiny over their practices, both at home and abroad.
For its part, Google described the lawsuit as “extremely unstable.” The company maintains from the outset that its industry remains highly competitive and that its business practices prioritize customers. “People use it [τις υπηρεσίες της] “Google because they choose to do it, not because they are forced or because they cannot find alternatives,” he said in his response.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court, is being processed by the United States Department of Justice and 11 states. The lawsuit focuses on the billions of dollars that Google spends each year to make its own search engine the default web browser, as well as on various devices, such as mobile phones.
Officials say the deals have allowed Google to secure a “key” position for those seeking Internet access, leaving the company to own or control distribution channels for about 80% of searches. shipped to the United States.
“In this way, Google has eliminated competition for Internet searches,” the lawsuit states. “Competitive search engines lack critical margins for distribution, scale and recognition, so they have no real chance of challenging Google’s primacy.” The lawsuit goes on to say: “Google’s position is so dominant that the word ‘Google’ is not just a noun, which refers to the company and the search engine it offers, but also a verb, which is synonymous with search for Internet “.
In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs allege that the aforementioned agreements have harmed the public interest by undermining the quality of privacy and privacy searches, limiting options, and acting as a barrier to innovation. Sally Hubbard, who works for the Open Markets Institute, a Washington-based think tank that has long lobbied for tougher action against tech giants, said the focus is on distribution deals. Google’s search engine was one of the easiest places to take legal action against the company.
In a Twitter post, Hubbard said the lawsuit “took a long time to come up, but it’s a wonderful development.”
In Congress, there are a growing number of voices calling for action against Google and technology companies of similar scope, such as Amazon, Facebook and Apple, as part of the support between the Democratic and Republican parties. The decision to file the lawsuit a few weeks before the US presidential election has raised questions about whether it is just a move by the Trump administration to demonstrate its willingness to take action on the influence of tech giants. in case Trump gets a second term.
In response, officials said they did not rush the investigation into filing a lawsuit before the election, noting that for years there had been a growing number of voices complaining that the government was too slow to address those issues.
“We are taking concrete action when required by law and order,” Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen said, adding that the prosecution was investigating competition practices in the technology sector.
Alphabet, whose subsidiary is Google and has a market capitalization of more than $ 1 trillion, is expected to challenge the charges in US courts. The price of its shares registered a slight change on Tuesday, despite the announcement.
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