U.S. states open probe into Google's anti-trust practices
- by Patty Hardy
- in Business
- — Sep 11, 2019
Google has another antitrust probe to worry about, after 50 attorneys general said on Monday they're opening a collective investigation into the tech giant's dominance of online advertising.
48 U.S. states and two territories - missing only California and Alabama - have announced the launch of a massive investigation into Google's advertising and search businesses, looking for evidence that the company has abused its market dominance.
Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody is joining 47 other states on a wide-ranging investigation into potential antitrust violations at Google.
The European Union's anti-trust regulators in March fined Google 1.49 billion euros ($1.7 billion) for abusing its dominance in the online search market by blocking rivals.
Both the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission are also now investigating whether Big Tech - as a whole - has hurt consumers and stifled competition in the US.
Google refused to comment and only pointed to a blog post by Kent Walker, the company's chief legal officer, published on Friday after it was revealed that the United States justice department had requested for records. Ahead of Monday's announcement, The Washinton Post, in a separate report, said approximately 25 attorneys general would be involved in the probe.
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Over the past decade, Google has been one of the biggest political donors in Washington, but this time around, the political environment is much less favorable to Google.
Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. But, the AG's release continued, "none of these investigations have fully addressed the fundamental source of Google's sustained market power and the ability to engage in serial and repeated business practices created to artificially protect and maintain that power". However, likely due to federal inaction thus far, U.S. state watchdogs are now initiating their own antitrust investigations into Google, specifically probing whether it undermines rivals and harm consumers. Regulators also could focus on areas such as Google's popular video site YouTube, an acquisition Google scored in 2006.
"Message to state AGs taking on new investigation of Big Tech from someone who launched the first investigation: The companies are lawyering up, trying to find ways to divide you, and looking for every chance to stonewall", Hawley added.
Speaking to reporters in front of the US Supreme Court Monday, a group of 13 attorneys general struck a bipartisan tone.
Google's share of the market, however, has dropped in recent years as companies like Amazon attract more spending.
Becerra's lack of participation in the Google investigation drew condemnation from the other side of the political aisle. Officials declined to say what was contained in the request, but South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg told CNN Business the document is dozens of pages long with many questions.
