Google in the eye of the American judicial cyclone. Fifty attorneys-general launched on Monday, September 9, an investigation into the possible antitrust practices of the undisputed king of search engines and advertising on the Internet.

"There is nothing wrong with a company becoming the first in its industry, if it does it on the basis of free competition, but we've seen evidence that Google's practices may have reduced choice, hindered innovation and violated users' right to privacy, "said Texas Republican Attorney Ken Paxton at the head of this large-scale bipartisan investigation. Only California (where Google's headquarters are) and Alabama have not joined this offensive.

"I do not remember the last time all the attorneys got together," Politico William Kovacic, former chairman of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), told the Politico website. But this exceptional alliance is not the only bad news for Google.

Ken Paxton said "the investigation would go where the facts would lead". In other words, prosecutors are preparing to dissect all aspects of the California group's business without being limited to advertising, as suggested by the media before the announcement on Monday. A global approach similar to that of the US Department of Justice that, in August 2019, began a "detailed examination of the Internet giants' business practices [including Google, Ed] to determine whether they abuse their dominant position."

An attack on several fronts that is reminiscent of the treatment inflicted on Microsoft in the late 1990s. The software giant was eventually found guilty of having established a monopoly in 1999 after a trial which is considered, even today, as a case study of the fight against abuse of dominant positions. To understand if Google risks the same fate, one must look at the concrete grievances that prosecutors may have to consider.

- The search engine as a tool of advertising dominance. With nearly 90% of market share in the United States, Google.com accounts for almost all Internet searches. The group also holds the main platform to buy and place ads on its search engine ... and elsewhere. "This gives it an advantage that can be considered unfair compared to other players trying to sell advertising space," says The Wall Street Journal. And there are a dozen, such as OpenX, Broadstreet, who will probably look forward to the findings of the investigation of prosecutors.

- Restrict competition. Google is often accused of using its dominant position to create insurmountable obstacles for its competitors in advertising. A company that wants to advertise on YouTube, for example, is forced to go through the Google ad office.
The Internet giant may argue that there are alternatives to its video platform, none enjoys the same popularity. YouTube drains two billion visitors every month, which is light years away from Dailymotion, for example, which totals only about 300 million unique visitors each month.

- Promote your own products at the expense of others . A tweet from Basecamp, an American Web project management startup, summed up this criticism addressed to Google. Posted last week, the message explains that Basecamp felt compelled to buy ads on Google for the keyword "basecamp" because they found that Google placed sponsored ads for its own products, including, while top of the results of a search where their site should have naturally been the first occurrence.

When Google puts your money up for your own, you're forced to pay when you want to be found. It's a shakedown. It's ransom. But at least we can have fun with it. Search for Basecamp and you may see this attached ad. pic.twitter.com/c0oYaBuahL

Jason Fried (@jasonfried) September 3, 2019

A study published in 2017 showed that Google's habit of promoting its own services on its search engine meant that less than 50% of Internet users clicked on a link other than a Google product.

For Jason Fried, CEO of Basecamp, it's simply "racketeering" since it forces small sites like him to pay advertising to not be drowned under sponsored ads.