Skip to main content

Justice Department, several states planning antitrust lawsuit against Google

The Justice Department and a group of state attorneys general are expected to hit Google with an antitrust lawsuit this summer, according to a pair of blockbuster reports released Friday — targeting the tech company’s stranglehold on the advertising industry.

Recommended Videos

The lawsuit is likely the result of an investigation that began in September, when all 50 U.S. states announced an antitrust probe into the company, focusing on its advertising practices and its control over internet search.

The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that the Justice Department plans to make the tech giant’s “ad technology” the main point of emphasis, while more broadly playing on the point that Google uses its web dominance to effectively crush out any other competitors.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who led the initial investigation, said Google has already been subpoenaed, as well as “impacted third parties.”

Paxton told The Wall Street Journal that the suit is likely to come this year. Information is still being gathered, however, and despite the coronavirus pandemic, Attorney General William Barr doesn’t expect a delay. Barr told the publication in March that the lawsuit would come to “fruition early summer.”

In a statement to The Wall Street Journal, a Google spokesperson said the company will continue to comply with the investigation by the Justice Department and declined to give any “updates or comments on speculation.”

“Our focus is firmly on providing services that help consumers, support thousands of businesses, and enable increased choice and competition.”

The New York Times confirmed the Journal’s report, citing two people who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the details were confidential. The regulators are focused on Google’s dominance in the online advertising industry, the Times confirmed, and the case will also involve allegations that the company abused its dominant position in online search to harm competitors, the people said.

It is still unclear whether individual states will have to follow suit, or hop on the federal case once it is filed. Litigation is still a possibility, but there has not been any indication of that yet, according to the outlet.

Last summer, the Justice Department announced that it would be opening a broad antitrust investigation into the nation’s largest tech companies, which included Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Apple.

Meira Gebel
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Meira Gebel is a freelance reporter based in Portland. She writes about tech, social media, and internet culture for Digital…
Apple’s next-gen M4 Macs look set to embrace serious gaming
The Mac mini on a wooden table.

Apple’s Mac machines and gaming don’t quite fit in the same equation, even though the recent trajectory of its Metal architecture has pulled off a few surprises. But it looks like the upcoming M4-tier machines won’t pull any punches, including the Mac mini.

In the latest edition of his Power On newsletter, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman writes that for the first time, Apple’s entry-level desktop computer will offer ray tracing support. For the unaware, it’s a lighting system that adds a whole new level of visual realism to games.

Read more
Paul Bettany says he’s really excited for the upcoming Vision spinoff series
Paul Bettany in WandaVision.

WandaVision was the first Marvel TV series to be produced by the studio itself, and in some ways, every other Marvel show has lived in its shadow. Notably, WandaVision is also the Marvel TV series that has produced the most spinoffs. Agatha All Along has been a success so far for the studio, and Marvel is also planning a spinoff series focused on Paul Bettany's Vision, who is brought back to life in WandaVision and escapes at the end of the series.

While promoting his work in the upcoming film Here, Bettany spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about the new series, which he said is expected to begin filming in 2025.

Read more
The UK’s Wayve brings its AI automated driving software to U.S. shores
wayve ai automated driving us driver assist2 1920x1152 1

It might seem that the autonomous driving trend is moving at full speed and on its own accord, especially if you live in California.Wayve, a UK startup that has received over $1 billion in funding, is now joining the crowded party by launching on-road testing of its AI learning system on the streets of San Francisco and the Bay Area.The announcement comes just weeks after Tesla unveiled its Robotaxi at the Warner Bros Studios in Burbank, California. It was also in San Francisco that an accident last year forced General Motors’ robotaxi service Cruise to stop its operations. And it’s mostly in California that Waymo, the only functioning robotaxi service in the U.S., first deployed its fleet of self-driving cars. As part of its move, Wayve opened a new office in Silicon Valley to support its U.S. expansion and AI development. Similarly to Tesla’s Full-Self Driving (FSD) software, the company says it’s using AI to provide automakers with a full range of driver assistance and automation features.“We are now testing our AI software in real-world environments across two continents,” said Alex Kendall, Wayve co-founder and CEO.The company has already conducted tests on UK roads since 2018. It received a huge boost earlier this year when it raised over $1 billion in a move led by Softbank and joined by Microsoft and Nvidia. In August, Uber also said it would invest to help the development of Wayve’s technology.Just like Tesla’s FSD, Wayve’s software provides an advanced driver assistance system that still requires driver supervision.Before driverless vehicles can legally hit the road, they must first pass strict safety tests.So far, Waymo’s technology, which relies on pre-mapped roads, sensors, cameras, radar, and lidar (a laser-light radar), is the only of its kind to have received the nod from U.S. regulators.

Read more