#DOJ sues Google over ‘unlawful monopolies’ in search, ads

The Justice Department on Tuesday filed its long-awaited antitrust lawsuit against Google, marking the biggest challenge to big tech in 22 years.

The lawsuit by the law enforcement agency accuses the search giant of maintaining “unlawful monopolies” in its search and advertising businesses.

The suit, filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., claims Google has long broken the law in its quest to remain “the gateway to the internet,” and has disadvantaged competitors in an effort to sell more online search ads.

Google’s questionable tactics include a massive contract worth billions of dollars with Apple to make it the default search engine on the iPhone, as well as ensuring that its search engine is pre-loaded onto smartphones using Alphabet’s Android operating system — which runs the majority of phones around the world.

The Mountain View, Calif.-company’s consolidation of market share has “had harmful effects on competition and consumers,” the DOJ said.

The 16-month investigation found that Google used its “monopoly power,” as well as “billions in monopoly profits” to ensure its spot at the top of the food chain, Attorney General Bill Barr said in a statement.

“The end result is that no one can feasibly challenge Google’s dominance in search and search advertising,” Barr said. “This lack of competition harms users, advertisers, and small businesses in the form of fewer choices, reduced quality (including on metrics like privacy), higher advertising prices, and less innovation.”

Barr called it “a monumental case for the Department of Justice,” and acknowledged that he has personally ensured that it was a “primary commitment” for the DOJ to investigate Google.

On a conference call with reporters, a DOJ official said that “nothing is off the table” when it comes to possible remedies the government will pursue.

The lawsuit promises to be the biggest antitrust case in a generation, comparable to the lawsuit against Microsoft Corp filed in 1998 and the 1974 case against AT&T which led to the breakup of the Bell System.

The Microsoft lawsuit was credited with clearing the way for the explosive growth of the internet since the antitrust scrutiny prevented the company from attempting to thwart competitors.

Tuesday’s suit is only the first lawsuit to emerge from a widespread Trump administration review of the powerful tech industry. Facebook, Amazon and Apple are also being probed for anti-competitive behavior.

Silicon Valley is also facing a potential clampdown on the freedoms they have been given to remove “objectionable” third-party content on their sites at their own discretion.

The DOJ has already called for curbing some of these protections amid criticisms from conservatives, including President Trump, that their voices are stifled. The Federal Trade Commission chairman Ajit Pai has already said he is working to “clarify” these rules, known as Section 230.

DOJ officials on Tuesday stressed, however, that their antitrust lawsuit was unrelated to other probes into the company involving Section 230, calling them “a totally separate set of concerns dealt with by different people in the department.”

Google was previously the subject of an antitrust investigation by the Federal Trade Commission over its search product, but the agency ended that probe in 2013, despite FTC staff having recommended the agency bring a case after reportedly finding “real harm to consumers and innovation.”

Shares of Google were flat Tuesday morning following the announcement of the lawsuit.

Google’s chief legal officer Kent Walker called the lawsuit “deeply flawed.”

“This lawsuit would do nothing to help consumers,” he said. “To the contrary, it would artificially prop up lower-quality search alternatives, raise phone prices, and make it harder for people to get the search services they want to use.”