Google is currently facing three other federal antitrust lawsuits, including one from the Department of Justice that alleges that the company's dominant search engine has allowed it to become a monopolistic guardian of the Internet. Two antitrust lawsuits have been filed against Google in two days. That adds up to a total of three antitrust cases against the search giant, including one filed in October by the Department of Justice. Google is now facing several antitrust challenges around the world, including three government lawsuits filed in the U.S.
UU. Only in the last two months. However, government agencies have been analyzing the company for years, and the European Commission cracked down on the search giant long before the U.S. The Commission has already imposed billions of dollars in fines on Google in three separate competition cases, against which Google has appealed.
Regulators in other countries have also been at odds with Google's competitive practices, such as in Australia, where News Corp, one of Google's main critics, has a significant presence. Google is also facing a couple of major antitrust challenges from private plaintiffs. Epic Games, the maker of Fortnite, sued Apple and Google separately for alleged anti-competitive practices, including charging exorbitant fees for sales through their mobile application marketplaces. Online publishers Genius Media and The Nation filed a lawsuit on Wednesday alleging that Google harmed their businesses by suppressing advertising competition.
They are seeking class action status. In all important cases, Google has denied engaging in any anti-competitive conduct. Google maintains that its decisions are made for the benefit of consumers. The Justice Department lawsuit closely follows its previous lawsuit against Microsoft in the late 1990s, at least apparently.
Both discuss efforts to maintain monopolistic power by blocking the main distribution channels for competition and using supposedly exclusive contracts to guarantee the default state of their technology on manufacturers' devices. The Justice Department lawsuit, filed in October with 11 Republican state attorneys general, details the supposedly exclusive contracts that Google used to block distribution. An example of this in the lawsuit is Google's contract with Apple to give its search engine the default state on Apple devices. Texas led a group of nine other Republican state attorneys general in a lawsuit focusing on Google's ad technology business and an alleged anti-competitive agreement with Facebook.
The lawsuit, which was filed on Wednesday, alleges that Google used its market power to pressure advertisers and publishers to use its tools at every step of the ad-buying process, ultimately to the detriment of consumers. He also states that Google established an agreement with Facebook when it learned of their plans to create an ad exchange that could rival theirs. The states allege that the agreement involved Google manipulating the auctions for the benefit of Facebook in exchange for keeping the competitive threat at bay. A Google spokesperson told CNBC that this statement is inaccurate and that Facebook participates in exchanges other than Google's.
A bipartisan group of attorneys general from 38 states and territories, including Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska and New York, filed a third lawsuit against Google on Thursday. Some of the lawsuit echoes the Department of Justice's claims about exclusion contracts, but the lawsuit also goes beyond the initial lawsuit. The states' complaint delves into Google's alleged efforts to block emerging distribution channels, such as smart speakers. It also alleges that Google limits the ability of vertical search providers, such as Yelp and Tripadvisor, to reach consumers by using discriminatory behavior on their search results page.
The complaint also concerns Google's advertising tools, alleging that they unfairly harm advertisers by denying them the possibility of interoperating between their own advertising tools and those of the competition. While Congress has no powers to enforce the law, the House of Representatives antitrust judicial subcommittee released a lengthy report in October that its authors hope will result in lasting changes in the law. The report followed more than a year of research on Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google, in which it was discovered that each of the companies had monopoly power in their respective markets. The majority report revealed that Google's domain worked as an ecosystem of interconnected monopolies that was reinforced by linking different services with extensive user data.
Like some of the recent lawsuits, the report revealed that Google maintains its search monopoly through alleged anti-competitive contracts. The subcommittee is working on new bills that aim to update antitrust laws in a variety of ways so that they are better able to address modern business problems. The report compiled by Democratic staff revealed that the courts have significantly weakened antitrust laws since their enactment, leaving Congress with the duty to legislate to return them to their original intention. The Commission's allegations focused in part on the exclusive contracts that Google allegedly had with publishers who used its AdSense tool, which prohibited them from showing advertisements from their competitors.
Google has also appealed that judgment. While Google faces the threat of potential disruptions in the future, it's likely to be years before a significant resolution is reached. Once the new cases reach the courts, there is still no guarantee that a judge will grant something so drastic, even if he is on the government's side. At least some of the cases against Google are likely to be consolidated, and the bipartisan coalition has already indicated that it will file a motion to do so along with the Department of Justice case.
While new laws are in sight that could make courts more favorable to the government in such cases, they are far from being an immediate threat. Even so, as long as these demands last, Google will remain under the microscope for every move and acquisition it tries to make. Just as many believe that the Department of Justice case against Microsoft in the late 1990s and early 2000s diverted their attention from the growing threat of Google, a growing competitor could thrive again under the circumstances. Do you have any confidential news? We want to hear from you.
Get this in your inbox and learn more about our products and services. December 7 (Reuters) - The big technology platforms Meta Platforms Inc, formerly known as Facebook (FB, O), and Google have been affected by a series of antitrust lawsuits by the U.S. The federal government and states accused of operating monopolies and abusing their power. However, Boasberg dismissed a related state lawsuit, alleging that the attorneys general had waited too long.
The government is preparing to file a second lawsuit focusing on the company's digital advertising business. Read more A lawsuit filed by 38 United States. States and territories are accusing Google of abusing its market power to try to make its search engine as dominant in cars, televisions and speakers as it is in mobile phones. Read more: This was consolidated with the federal lawsuit for discovery purposes.
Dozens of state attorneys general sued Google on July 7, alleging that it had bought from competitors and used restrictive contracts to illegally maintain its monopoly on its app store on Android phones. Read more In its investigation into, the FTC is likely looking at the conflict of interest inherent in Amazon's competition with small sellers on its marketplace platform, including allegations that it used information from sellers on its platform to decide what products it would introduce. The CEO of Apple Inc., Tim Cook, asked Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to consider the possibility of protecting users by regulating the distribution of smartphone applications, Nikkei reported on Friday, citing sources. Build the strongest argument based on reputable content, the experience of a lawyer and publisher, and industry-defining technology.
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