The U.S. Justice Department has launched an antitrust lawsuit against Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL), alleging that the company abuses its dominance in online search and advertising to stifle competition and harm consumers.
The lawsuit marks the federal government in Washington, D.C.'s most significant action to protect competition since its ground-breaking antitrust case against Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) more than 20 years ago. It could be an opening salvo ahead of other major government antitrust actions, given ongoing investigations of major technology companies such as Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) at both the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission.
Lawmakers and consumer advocates have long accused Google, whose corporate parent Alphabet Inc. has a market value just over $1 trillion, of abusing its dominance in online search and advertising to stifle competition and boost its profits. Critics claim that structural changes are needed for Google to change its conduct.
Google responded to the lawsuit on Twitter (NYSE:TWTR), stating: "Today's lawsuit by the Department of Justice is deeply flawed. People use Google because they choose to — not because they're forced to or because they can't find alternatives."
The case was filed in federal court in Washington, D.C. It alleges that Google uses billions of dollars collected from advertisers to pay phone manufacturers to ensure Google is the default search engine on browsers. Eleven states will join the federal government in the lawsuit.
Google today controls about 90% of global web searches. The company has been bracing for the government's action and is expected to fiercely oppose any attempt to force it to spin off its services into separate businesses.
Tech Insider
