Google Unfairly Hurt Search Rivals, New Suit Claims
States say the new lawsuit will be consolidated with a federal-and-state antitrust case filed in October
Google has been hit with another antitrust suit, this one asserting the company used its dominance in online search to thwart potential rivals.
This latest suit, by 38 state attorneys general, came just a day after 10 states filed their own antitrust action against Google, which claimed the company unfairly dominated online advertising, hurting consumers and businesses.
The new suit is part of a broader push by federal and state governments to rein in major technology companies, reflecting the growing belief that their anticompetitive practices harm consumers.
The latest charges will be consolidated with a suit filed in October by the Department of Justice that called Google a “monopoly gatekeeper to the internet.”
The Federal Trade Commission, meanwhile, sued last week to force Facebook to shed key acquisitions, saying the company bought up potential rivals to squash competition.
Last summer, Congress called the CEOs of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google to testify as part of a yearlong bipartisan investigation of the business practices of the tech industry.
A scathing report on that investigation was released in October, suggesting that the companies had become monopolies that had to be more tightly regulated and perhaps even broken up.
This latest state suit expands the scope of the October DOJ complaint, adding charges about how Google thwarted would-be competitors in emerging technologies such as voice assistants and connected cars.
On Wednesday, the attorneys general of Texas and nine other states filed a separate antitrust suit against Google, claiming the company illegally dominated the digital advertising market and worked out a secret deal with Facebook.
Consumers Distrust Search Results
Consumer advocates say Google’s dominance in search harms consumers by restricting the choices they would otherwise receive in an unbiased search result.
“While it might not be obvious to consumers, a Google search includes paid ads as well as other promoted results, and those usually end up at the very top of your page,” says Sumit Sharma, senior researcher for technology competition at Consumer Reports.
Indeed, a nationally representative online survey conducted by Consumer Reports in late July found that 46 percent of Americans have difficulty distinguishing between an objective search result and one that’s a paid ad. The majority of respondents (58 percent) weren’t confident that they were getting unbiased search results when using an online platform to shop or search for information.
Those same consumers expressed concern about the power wielded by Google and other big tech platforms, with 6 out of 10 Americans favoring stronger government action—including new laws, regulations, and enforcement actions—to discipline tech platforms and reduce harmful conduct.
The results of this CR survey were cited in the 449-page Congressional report released in October by the Antitrust Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee that called Google “an ecosystem of interlocking monopolies.”
(Consumer Reports does not accept advertising on its website or in print but does advertise with Google and use other Google services.)
If this new case lands in court, a judge would decide whether Google’s actions were in violation of antitrust laws and, if so, what remedies are appropriate. The remedies could include monetary damages and required changes in the way the company does business. A broader option, mentioned in general terms in today’s complaint, would be to break up Google’s many divisions in some fashion into separate, stand-alone businesses.
