Several agencies within the US government have been investigating Google and its antitrust tactics for several months now. And today, Attorney General, William Bar has filed suit against Google for its illegal monopolization of the search and ad markets.
This is going to start one of the largest antitrust cases ever, in the US. This case is reportedly going to focus on search and search-focused advertising. And not the company’s broader targeted ad business. That is still a big dagger to Google’s heart though. As its ad business makes up more than 95% of its annual revenue.
The suit will be announced later this morning
Deputy Attorney General, Jeffrey Rosen has announced a briefing that will take place later this morning. That is more than likely when the Justice Department will announce this suit against Google.
More than ten state Attorneys General are expected to sign onto the Justice Department’s case against Google. While other state Attorneys General are expected to file separate antitrust charges against the tech giant.
Antitrust charges is nothing new for Google. It faces these charges quite often, particularly in the European Union. And get slapped with a fine almost yearly. But since the fine is so small, compared to the revenue that Google brings in everyday, it does little to nothing to change Google’s antitrust behavior. Maybe the US government’s antitrust suit can actually change this behavior, so that Google has the consumer in mind with these products.
Congress has alleged that Google has used its dominance in Search, to crush its competitors in other areas. With Rep Cicilline stating at the hearing in July, that it is “Google’s business model that is the problem” and it would be hard to disagree. And claims that Google has become a walled garden that keeps users from going to the rest of the web.