It seems like the Justice Department is getting ready to file an antitrust lawsuit against Google. According to a new report by the New York Times, that lawsuit will be filed in the coming weeks.
The Attorney General. William P. Barr, has set a deadline for this lawsuit, and it’s by the end of this month. The Attorney General actually overruled career lawyers who said they needed more time in order to build a strong case against Google.
The Attorney General wants to file antitrust charges against Google by the end of the month
They were told to wrap things up by the end of September. Most of the lawyers did oppose the deadline, though, reports The New York Times. Some of them even said they would not sign the complaint, and a couple of them left the case this summer.
It seems like pretty much every lawyer that worked the case thought that they can build a strong case, but that they need time. Well, it seems like the Attorney General does not agree.
Some of those lawyers also expressed concerns that the Attorney General wanted the case in September so that he can take the credit for this lawsuit under the Trump administration.
Mr. Barr, on the other hand, thought that the department had moved too slowly when it comes to this case. He thought that the deadline was kind of unreasonable.
Mr. Barr also wanted to be involved in this case, heavily, according to a former telecom industry executive. He wanted to receive regular briefings on it, so he received thick binders of information. He also reported back with his own ideas and notes.
What’s even more interesting is that a coalition of 50 states and territories support this antitrust action against Google. State attorneys general have been conduction their very own investigation as well.
Some lawyers believe that rushing this case will weaken it
Some lawyers are even worried that this determination to bring the case forward so soon could weaken it. As a reminder, the inquiry into Alphabet was opened back in June 2019, that’s when the whole thing started.
Google controls about 90-percent of web searches globally. Rivals have complained that Google actually extended its dominance by making its search and browsing tools defaults on phones with Android OS.
On top of that, Google captures around one-third of every dollar spent on online advertising. According to three sources, The Justice Department does have some powerful evidence of anticompetitive practices.
All in all, we could see this Google antitrust lawsuit take place before the end of this month, as the Justice Department seems to be eager to push it forward. We’ll keep you posted.