US Department of Justice: Dismantling Google may be necessary to stop antitrust violations

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Wednesday, October 21, 2020 - 17:35
Point Trader Group

The US Department of Justice filed an antitrust lawsuit against Alphabet-owned Google on Tuesday, alleging that the trillion-dollar company is using its market power to deter competitors and said nothing is excluded, including splitting the internet search and advertising company.

The lawsuit, involving 11 states, is the largest antitrust lawsuit in three decades, being matched only by the lawsuit against Microsoft in 1998 and the case in 1974 against AT&T that led to the dismantling of BellSystems.

The lawsuit alleges that Google acted unlawfully to maintain its position in Internet search advertising and activities.

"Without a court order, Google will continue to implement its non-competitive strategy, blocking the competition process, reducing consumer choices and undermining innovation," she said.

The lawsuit said Google had nearly 90 percent of all public inquiries on search engines in the United States, and nearly 95 percent of searches on phones.

"Google is now the undisputed internet gateway to billions of users around the world ... For the benefit of American consumers, advertisers and all companies that currently rely on the Internet economy, it is time to tackle Google's uncompetitive behavior and restore competition," the lawsuit said.

"Consumers and advertisers will ultimately suffer from a lack of options, fewer innovations, and the absence of competitive advertising rates ... Therefore, we ask the court to end Google's control over the distribution of search until competition and innovation take hold."

When asked during a conference call about the specific procedure that should be taken, an official at the Ministry of Justice said, "Nothing is excluded, but it is better for the court to take over the issue of solutions after giving it the opportunity to hear all the evidence."


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