On Wednesday, a similar process was announced by 10 states.
A group of 38 states filed a lawsuit against Google on Thursday, accusing the technology giant of anti-competitive behavior in the online advertising market.
The lawsuit, announced by Colorado Attorney General Phil Weisler, is bipartisan and brings together entities governed by both Republicans and Democrats.
In a statement, Weisler claims that Google “illegally maintains its monopoly power over general search engines and the related general search advertising market” and, as a result, “harms both consumers and advertisers”. .
In particular, the Colorado Prosecutor’s Office claims that, in order to confirm its monopoly, the technology giant has concluded “a series of exclusionary contracts” and, in addition, uses the Search Advertising 360 tool, which denies “interoperability with competing search engine advertising functions.” . “It also accuses Google of manipulating search results in commercially profitable segments, such as travel or entertainment, by depriving companies in these customer sectors.
Google has indicated that the company will defend itself in court, Reuters reports. Meanwhile, the company’s shares fell by about 1% following the news of the lawsuit.
Process dam
Weisler’s lawsuit is the second joint lawsuit filed by several US entities in 24 hours. On Wednesday, another 10-state complaint was announced by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
According to the prosecutor, the search engine engaged in “anti-competitive behavior, exclusive practices and misleading distortions in relation to its role in the online advertising industry.” In addition, he allegedly entered into an illegal agreement with Facebook to avoid any competition with that social network.
Earlier, on October 20, the US Department of Justice accused the technology giant of using its dominant position to prevent other competitors from entering the market.