In December 2020, 10 states led by Texas
iled a federal suit against Google accusing
it of “anticompetitive conduct” in the online
advertising industry, including a deal to
manipulate sales with rival Facebook.
In October 2020, the U.S. Justice Department
joined by 11 states iled a landmark antitrust
suit against Google for allegedly abusing its
dominance in online search and advertising. The
suit asked the court to order structural changes
“as needed” for Google, opening the door to
possible fundamental changes such as a spinof
of its Chrome browser.
European regulators in recent years have
imposed multibillion-dollar ines on Google over
competition issues, in an efort to curb its clout
on the continent. Google, one of the world’s
most proitable companies, helped Alphabet
ring up $18.9 billion in revenue in last year’s July-
September quarter.
Bipartisan legislation advanced last week by a
Senate panel would bar the dominant online
platforms — Google, Meta (formerly Facebook),
Amazon and Apple — from favoring their own
goods and services over those of competitors.
It could, for example, bring restrictions for
Google’s search engine, which routinely places
its services at the top of search results.
The new lawsuits mirror one brought by
Arizona in May 2020, similarly accusing
Google of deceiving consumers about
protections for their personal data. A year ago,
an Arizona judge rejected the state’s request
for summary judgment, ruling that the state
didn’t have suicient evidence and saying
the case should go before a jury. The judge