WSJ US authorities are preparing antitrust lawsuits against Google

Case against Google

State AGs Likely to Bring Antitrust Lawsuits Against Google: WSJ.

The US government wants to bring Google to justice with the aim of limiting the data group’s market power in the advertising business. An investigation is running in June, whereby also the search engine and the Android operating system are topic. According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), preparations for the lawsuit have progressed to such an extent that it could be brought in during the summer. Google denies violations of antitrust law.

The shares of Google Holding Alphabet decreased in post-trade trading after publication of the WSJ article 1.5%. In addition to the federal government, 50 US states and territories have been investigating Google since September. With the exception of Alabama and Google’s home state of California, there are ministers of justice from all US states, as well as the capital district DC (District of Columbia) and the territory of Puerto Rico. The group works under the leadership of Texas' own lawsuit in the fall. Some states could join the federal lawsuit, there could also be several lawsuits by states.

New legal territory with free services

There has never been such a broad coalition in the United States. US media compare Google’s situation with that of Microsoft in the historic cartel process of the turn of the millennium. What specific accusations the Justice Ministers will make are not yet known.

The legal challenge for claimants is that end users don’t have to pay for most Google services. However, price increases are the classic yardstick of US antitrust law ("anti-trust") for determining consumer damage. This scale doesn’t quite fit with free services. However, users do not pay with dollars, but with their attention and the disclosure of data. And last but not least, Google’s approach may have led to a lower choice of services.(ds)