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Louisiana one of 11 states to support Justice Department's lawsuit against Google

3 years 5 months 1 week ago Tuesday, October 20 2020 Oct 20, 2020 October 20, 2020 9:27 AM October 20, 2020 in News
Source: CNN

According to CNN, the Trump administration is poised to sue Google on Tuesday, according to two people familiar with the matter, in what is the largest antitrust case against a tech company in more than twenty years.

The Justice Department (DOJ) is expected to outline a list of complaints against Google surrounding its alleged stifling of competition to maintain its position in the marketplace for online search.

According to ABC News, Louisiana has ties to the expected case as it is one of eleven states to join as plaintiffs. Other states included in this list are Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, South Carolina, and Texas. 

The federal complaint follows an antitrust probe by DOJ investigators and a major congressional report revealing Google's alleged anticompetitive tendencies while holding "monopoly power" in its industry. 

That report also targeted other tech companies such as Amazon, Apple, and Facebook. It claims Amazon has mistreated third-party sellers, that Apple's app store fees and policies are anti-competitive, and that Facebook has attempted to stamp out future rivals via targeted acquisitions.

The Justice Department's expected suit against Google will be a landmark case as it would be the most consequential step the government has taken to hold Silicon Valley to account since evidence pointed to the manipulation of major social media platforms at the hands of foreign parties during the 2016 election.

CNN reports that since then, top executives of major tech platforms have been repeatedly hauled before Congress to face questions about their responsibilities toward political speech; hateful content and misinformation; small businesses and local journalism; and competition.

The looming case could pose an unprecedented risk to Google's wider advertising business, which brought in $134.8 billion in revenue last year, accounting for 84% of Google's total business.

According to CNN, even as the Justice Department prepares to take Google to court over antitrust concerns, others in the tech industry could face lawsuits of similar magnitude. Officials at the Federal Trade Commission have been investigating Facebook for over a year, and that investigation could culminate in its own landmark litigation.

The pending Google suit also symbolizes the growing criticism, particularly by former Democratic presidential candidates including Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar, against historic levels of economic inequality and corporate concentration in the United States.

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