AGs of 38 states sue Google for ‘anticompetitive actions’

WASHINGTON — Nearly 40 states filed a wide-ranging antitrust lawsuit against Google on Thursday, saying the tech giant manipulates its search results to give its own products and services greater rankings over rivals, depriving web users from seeing the best options whenever they search the web for shopping, dining, travel and more.

The lawsuit by at least 38 attorneys general marks the third competition case that U.S. regulators have filed against Google since October, reflecting both the rising unease with the company’s massive profits and reach and the growing national dissatisfaction with Silicon Valley writ large.

In the latest legal salvo, the Democratic and Republican attorneys general take aim at a broad swath of Google’s digital empire. They say Google has solidified its monopoly in search — capturing roughly 90% of all queries — through an array of anti-competitive tactics, such as special deals to ensure that it is the default option on web browsers, smartphones and newer connected devices, such as smart TVs and speakers.

State investigators also criticized Google for the way it presents its search results, which often requires companies to purchase ads if they want to rise to the top of users’ pages. In doing so, Google is able to drive adoption of its own advertising products and services, enriching its bottom line and further entrenching its dominance.

“Google’s anticompetitive actions have protected its general search monopolies and excluded rivals, depriving consumers of the benefits of competitive choices, forestalling innovation, and undermining new entry or expansion,” said Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, a Democrat. “This lawsuit seeks to restore competition.”

Google sought to rebut the charges in a lengthy blog post. Adam Cohen, the company’s director of economic policy, said the search giant’s practices reflect a desire to deliver more information to consumers, not stifle competitors.

“We look forward to making that case in court,” he said, “while remaining focused on delivering a highquality search experience for our users.”

For years, Google dodged U.S. antitrust scrutiny. Now, though, Google faces a political and regulatory assault aimed at the very heart of its business. On Wednesday, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton led nine fellow Republican officials in suing Google over its advertising practices, saying the tech giant illegally sought to suppress competition and reap massive profits from targeted advertisements.

Less than two months earlier, the Department of Justice filed an antitrust case. The complaint took aim at Google’s special arrangements to ensure that its search engine is set as the default option on an array of devices, including Apple’s iPhone, and services, such as the Mozilla Firefox browser. Google denies the charges that its practices violate federal competition laws.

On Thursday, the Colorado and other attorneys general said they would seek to consolidate their lawsuit with the Justice Department’s earlier complaint so the cases would be argued together. Much like the earlier suits, they opened the door for a judge to order broad penalties, including potentially forcing Google to sell off its business. They stopped short of calling explicitly for Google to be broken up.

Search represents the core of Google’s empire: It generated $98 billion in revenue for the company last year, which the states said dwarfed the gross domestic product of 129 countries and 46 states. To preserve those profits — and its monopoly — the attorneys general said Google for years has turned to a series of illegal, exclusionary practices.

With its massive financial war chest, Google has long paid a wide array of companies to ensure that it is the default search service on many products and services. The company pays Apple, for example, between $8 billion and $12 billion annually to be “enthroned” as the preset search engine on iPhones, the attorneys general say.