Antitrust Lawsuit Filed by 10 US State Governments Against Google

Following the Federal Government
Aligning with the Biden Administration's Code

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] Ten state governments, including Texas, have filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google, the world's largest search engine. They claim that Google used its dominant market position to hinder fair competition in the online advertising market. This is expected to add further pressure on Google, which is already facing antitrust lawsuits from the federal government.

On the 16th (local time), Ken Paxton, Attorney General of Texas, filed a lawsuit alleging that Google violated antitrust laws related to online advertising.

Attorney General Paxton stated on social media, "The internet giant Google is disrupting the market and hindering competition, thereby harming consumers' interests," adding, "Google has risen as the king of the online world, engaging in exclusive practices and deceptive misrepresentations."

Paxton argued that Google used its monopoly position in the online advertising market to obstruct fair competition from external companies in terms of advertising rates and distribution. He claimed that Google forced external companies to use its advertising program to advertise on YouTube, its own video platform.

The Wall Street Journal reported that ten states, including Texas, Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Mississippi, South Dakota, North Dakota, Utah, and Idaho, have officially joined the lawsuit. Additionally, other states are expected to file separate antitrust lawsuits against Google as early as this week.

The background of this lawsuit is interpreted as state governments aligning with the upcoming Biden administration. President-elect Joe Biden believes that big tech companies having excessive monopoly power threatens democracy.

Google now faces internal and external crises due to this additional state lawsuit. Earlier in October, the U.S. Department of Justice also filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google. The DOJ suspects collusion among IT companies to maintain Google's monopoly position. It was revealed that Google has paid Apple up to $10 billion annually to have its Safari browser pre-installed on iPhones. In the overseas market, the European Union (EU), the largest market outside Korea, has introduced new regulations targeting Google and other big tech companies, warning that they could impose fines up to 10% of global annual revenue or even demand corporate breakups.

Meanwhile, Google has not issued an official statement but is expected to mount a defense. According to major foreign media citing a Google spokesperson, "Online advertising prices have been falling over the past decade, and advertising fees are also decreasing," adding, "Google's advertising fees are lower than the industry average."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.