DENVER (AP) – Dozens of other states are joining a growing effort to show that Google has methodically abused its power as a major internet gateway in a way that hurts consumers who routinely feed information staff to your search engine and advertisers pouring billions of dollars. an extensive marketing network.
The lawsuit was filed Thursday in federal court in Washington by attorneys general from 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 U.S. Department of Justice in late October that also attempts to disable Google’s dominance in online search and digital advertising.
“Consumers are denied the advantages of competition, including the possibility of higher quality services and better protection of privacy. Advertisers are harmed by the low quality and higher prices that, in turn, are transmitted to consumers, “Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser told the action.
In a blog post, Google’s economic policy director Adam Cohen said big business should be examined and Google is ready to answer questions about how it works.
“But this lawsuit seeks to redesign the search for ways to deprive Americans of useful information and harm the ability of companies to connect directly with customers. We look forward to bringing this case to court, while keeping the focus on offering a high quality search experience for our users, ”he said.
The case is the third antitrust salvation that Google has hit in the past two months, as the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney General weigh in with their various variations on how they believe the company is abusing its immense power to do bad things that harm other companies, innovation and even consumers who consider their services indispensable.
“There has not been a cluster of cases of this importance since the 1970s,” said William Kovacic, a law professor at George Washington University and a former chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, who noted the recent wave of antitrust actions of states, Department of Justice and FTC. “That’s a great thing.”
In 1974 the DOJ filed an antitrust lawsuit against AT&T that caused its rupture.
In many ways, the rain of U.S. antitrust lawsuits represents an attempt to catch up with European regulators who have spent the past few years trying to crack down on Google, mostly with huge fines, to a noticeable effect so far.
The latest lawsuit echoes the allegations filed by the federal government. But it goes beyond trying to prevent Google from becoming dominant in the latest generation of technology, such as voice assist devices and Internet-connected cars, as well as claiming that the company discriminates against the specialized search providers they offer. travel and home repair. and entertainment services and denies access to its search advertising management tool, SA360, to competitors such as Bing.
To the detriment of competition and consumers, Google has deviated from its founding motto of “Don’t be evil” by showing naked greed and contempt for the law in the pursuit of absolute market dominance.
– Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes
The lawsuit was joined by attorneys general from 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 deviated from its founding motto of ‘Don’t Be Evil’ by showing naked greed and contempt for the law in its pursuit of absolute market dominance,” the attorney general said. Utah, Sean Reyes, to a statement Thursday. “Instead of relying on innovation and merit in an open market, Google has opted to try to crush all competition with a concerted scheme that few audiences understand.”
Attorneys general have worked with the Justice Department as they developed their case and are asking for their case to be combined with the department’s lawsuit, allowing these more advanced claims to move forward, Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller said.
“This will be a unified effort,” he said.
Public Citizen, a non-profit organization that advocates for consumers, welcomed the latter lawsuit.
“Google has built a monopoly on online advertising that is unfair, excludes competitors and raises prices. And with its control of its search engine, Google has been able to unfairly filter out competitor listings while promoting its own business, “said Alex Harman, a proponent of competition policy for the group.
On Wednesday, ten states led by Republican attorneys general filed a lawsuit against Google accusing it of “anti-competitive conduct” in the online advertising industry, including a deal to manipulate sales with rival Facebook. It focused on the heart of Google’s business: digital ads that generate almost all of its revenue, as well as all the money on which its parent company, Alphabet Inc., depends to help fund a wide range of technology projects.
Liedtke reported from San Ramon, California. Associated Press writer Marcy Gordon contributed to this report from Washington.
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