On Tuesday, according to the Associated Press, the Justice Department (DOJ) and several states sued Google, alleging that its dominance in digital advertising harms competition. The states taking part in the suit include California, Colorado, New Jersey, New York, Virginia, Tennessee, Connecticut and Rhode Island.
Alleging that Google’s plan to assert dominance, has been to “neutralize or eliminate” rivals, through acquisitions and to force advertisers to use its products, by making it difficult to use competitors’ products, the government filed an antitrust suit, in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia. Later Tuesday, attorney General Merrick Garland was expected to discuss the subject at a news conference.
For monopolizing the way ads are served online, The DOJ’s suit accuses Google of unlawfully excluding competitors. This includes its 2008 acquisition of DoubleClick, a dominant ad server, and subsequent rollout of technology, that locks in the split-second bidding process, for ads that get served on Web pages.
Representatives for Google’s parent company, did not immediately respond to a message for comment. A Yale University fellow and ad-tech expert, Dina Srinivasan, said the lawsuit is “huge” because it aligns the entire nation - state and federal governments, in a bipartisan legal offensive against Google.
The latest legal challenge taken against Google, by either the Justice Department or local state governments, is ongoing. For violating antitrust laws, in October 2020, for instance, the Trump ,administration and eleven state attorney generals sued Google also. The lawsuit in essence, aligns the Biden administration and new states, with the 35 states and District of Colombia that sued Google in December 2020 over the same issues.
Former Attorney General William Barr said in a statement –
“Today, millions of Americans rely on the Internet and online platforms for their daily lives,” “Competition in this industry is vitally important, which is why today’s challenge against Google the gatekeeper of the Internet, for violating antitrust laws is a monumental case both for the Department of Justice and for the American people.”
And…
“Over the course of the last 16 months, the Antitrust Division collected convincing evidence that Google no longer competes only on the merits but instead uses its monopoly power – and billions in monopoly profits – to lock up key pathways to search on mobile phones, browsers, and next generation devices, depriving rivals of distribution and scale.”
And concluding…
“In sum, Google deprives rivals of the quality, reach, and financial position necessary to mount any meaningful competition to Google’s longstanding monopolies. By foreclosing competition from rivals, Google harms consumers and advertisers.”
-Former Attorney General Barr
“Antitrust law isn't about protecting competing businesses from each other, it's about protecting competition itself on behalf of the public.