U.S. Department of Justice Hits Google With Antitrust Lawsuit

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is filing an antitrust lawsuit against Alphabet’s Google for reportedly monopolizing search and ad markets, according to a Wall Street Journal report on Tuesday (Oct. 20).

The DOJ has been investigating Google’s practices for over a year. According to the agency, 80 percent of U.S. search queries are conducted on search channels that the tech giant owns or controls. In what is expected to be among the biggest antitrust lawsuits in U.S. history, senior justice officials will allege that Google ensured its continued search and search-advertising monopolies by taking part in anticompetitive activities.

The suit is also expected to allege that the tech giant used proceeds from platform advertising to ensure it was the default web browser on all makes, models and carriers of smartphones. Justice officials told the WSJ the suit will point to the fact that Google search is preloaded with no option to delete it on the Android operating system. It will also spotlight how Google illegally prevents its rivals’ search apps “from being preloaded on phones under revenue-sharing arrangements,” the article said.

The Silicon Valley company, which was launched in 1998, is financially poised to take on a major lawsuit. It has said in the past that it has not committed any wrongdoing and that users are free to choose any browser or site. 

Attorneys general from several states are also planning to launch an investigation into Google. The states leading the probe include Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, Tennessee and Utah. The tech giant is also facing an investigation in China.

In July, California launched its own antitrust investigation into Google’s practices based on the state’s own antitrust laws. The focus of the probe centers on whether the company abused its position by monopolizing ad technology.