US Department of Justice launches monopoly lawsuit against Google

The New York headquarters of Google.

REUTERS - SHANNON STAPLETON

Text by: RFI Follow

2 mins

The US Department of Justice, together with eight US states including California and New York, are suing Internet search giant Google.

According to them, Google has constituted a kind of monopoly on the technologies used in digital advertising.

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According to the plaintiffs, Google uses anti-competitive and illegal methods to eliminate its competitors.

In question, these banners or pop-up windows sold to brands that appear on the websites visited by users.

Or the tools that advertisers use to buy these spaces, as well as the market where the transactions take place.

Due to its dominant position in Internet research, Google controls all these tools. 

In the background, the juicy, but very competitive online advertising market, from which the tech giants derive their profits.

Website publishers should also be able to make a living from it, say the plaintiffs.

More than 13 billion advertisements are sold every day on the web in the United States.

The bulk of this windfall is scooped up by Google.

Congress seeks to break the grip of Gafam

This monopoly that Google shares with other tech giants worries even the American Congress, which is seeking to break the hold exerted by the Gafam on almost all spheres of public and private life through the use of the Internet.

This is the second complaint launched by the ministry against the Californian group since the inauguration of President Joe Biden two years ago.

The first, which relates to the domination of its search engine, should lead to a trial this year.

Google has already been fined in the past for violating competition law, notably by the European Union.

In the United States, the company is already facing lawsuits launched at the end of 2020 by a coalition of states led by Texas.

According to their accusations, Google sought to drive out competition by manipulating ad auctions.

►Also read: European justice confirms a fine of 2.4 billion euros to Google

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