WASHINGTON: The US Department of Justice and 11 states filed an antitrust lawsuit against Alphabet Inc. Google Tuesday for allegedly breaking the law by using his market power to defend himself against rivals.
The lawsuit marks the largest antitrust case in a generation, comparable to the 1998 lawsuit against Microsoft Corp and the 1974 case against AT&T that led to the breakdown of the Bell system.
Google, whose search engine is so ubiquitous that its name has become a verb, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The company had revenue of $ 162 billion in 2019, more than the nation of Hungary.
Republican Senator Josh Hawley, a vociferous critic of Google, accused the company of maintaining power through “illegal means” and called the lawsuit “the most significant antitrust case in a generation.”
Microsoft’s lawsuit was credited with clearing the way for the Internet’s explosive growth, as antitrust scrutiny prevented the company from trying to thwart competitors.
Tuesday’s federal lawsuit marks a rare moment of agreement between the Trump administration and progressive Democrats. US Senator Elizabeth Warren tweeted on September 10, using the hashtag #BreakUpBigTech, that she wanted “quick and aggressive action.”
Just days before the US presidential election, the timing of the presentation could be seen as a political gesture, as it fulfills a promise made by President Donald Trump his supporters to hold certain companies accountable for allegedly stifling conservative voices.
Republicans often complain that social media companies, including Google, take steps to reduce the spread of conservative views on their platforms. Lawmakers have sought, without explaining how, to use antitrust laws to force big technology to stop these alleged limitations.
Alphabet shares rose nearly 1% after news that the government’s lawsuit was imminent. There were some doubts in the markets that Washington lawmakers will actually come together and take action, according to Neil Campling, head of tech media and telecom research at Mirabaud Securities in London.
“It’s like closing the proverbial door after the horse has run. Google already has the monopoly position, it has invested billions in infrastructure, artificial intelligence, technologies, software, engineering and talent. You can’t just relax a decade of significant progress. ”
All 11 states that joined the lawsuit have Republican attorneys general.
More lawsuits could be in the offing, as state attorneys general are underway on Google’s broader businesses, as well as an investigation of its broader digital advertising businesses. A Texas-led group of attorneys general is expected to file a separate lawsuit focused on digital advertising as early as November, while a Colorado-led group is contemplating a broader lawsuit against Google.
The lawsuit comes more than a year after the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission began antitrust investigations at four big tech companies: Amazon.com Inc, Apple Inc, Facebook Inc and Google.
Seven years ago, the FTC settled an antitrust investigation against Google for allegedly biasing its search function to favor its products, among other issues. The settlement came after objections from some attorneys on the FTC staff.
Google has faced similar legal challenges abroad.
The European Union fined Google $ 1.7 billion in 2019 for preventing websites from using Google’s rivals to find advertisers, $ 2.6 billion in 2017 for favoring its own search shopping business, and $ 4.9 billion. in 2018 for blocking rivals on its Android wireless operating system.
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