In the biggest antitrust case against a tech company in almost two decades, Google is being accused of maintaining a monopoly and practising anti-competition tactics for search and search advertising.
In its official statement, the US Department of Justice wrote, "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. The end result is that no one can feasibly challenge Google’s dominance in search and search advertising".
This lawsuit will only oversee the charges of monopoly and not address concerns raised about content moderation and political censorship by online platforms, the department informed as it informed that their antitrust investigation of Google, by contrast, is based solely on traditional antitrust principles and is aimed at promoting consumer welfare through robust competition.
The US Department of Justice reminded about how it sued Microsoft in 1998 to be able to create an even playing field for competitors like Google who have in turn become anti-competitive themselves.
ALSO READ | Google Kills Location Sharing Trusted Contacts App; Find Out Why it's Removed From Play & App Store
"Twenty-five years ago, the Department of Justice sued Microsoft, paving the way for a new wave of innovative tech companies – including Google. The increased competition following the Microsoft case enabled Google to grow from a small start-up to an Internet behemoth," the statement read.
"Unfortunately, once Google itself gained dominance, it resorted to the same anticompetitive playbook. If we let Google continue its anticompetitive ways, we will lose the next wave of innovators and Americans may never get to benefit from the “next Google.” The time has come to restore competition to this vital industry," it read.
The Department states that their aim is to restore competition in markets "beholden to an unlawful monopolist".
The participating state Attorney General offices represent Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, South Carolina, and Texas.
Read The Full Statement Here
Google's Reaction
Google has reacted to the lawsuit stating that it is deeply flawed because "people use Google because they choose to, not because they're forced to, or because they can't find alternatives".
"This lawsuit would do nothing to help consumers. On the contrary, it would artificially prop up lower-quality search alternatives, raise phone prices, and make it harder for people to get the search services they want to use," argued Kent Walker, SVP Global Affairs and Chief Legal Officer at Google.
ALSO READ | 'Is Arunachal Pradesh Not A Part Of India?' Twitter Users Attack Xiaomi Over Weather App Not Showing Results For Itanagar
What Preceded The Lawsuit?
A Congressional report published earlier this month had charged serious allegation again Google of favouring its own products in search results. The company faces similar charges put up by the anti-trust competition authorities in Europe.
The EU antitrust regulators had, last year, fined Google's parent company Alphabet to the tune of $1.7 billion for unfairly restricting rivals from putting up ads on its platform through third parties using its AdSense tool. Google was earlier fined a massive $5 billion by European antitrust authorities in 2018.
(With Agency Inputs)