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FeedSource: [TheRegister]

Time: 2019-09-09 23:22:13 UTC

Original URL: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2019/09/09/google_antitrust_investigation/ [theregister.co.uk] using UTF-8 encoding.

Title: Get ready to be probed by the Antitrust Voltron, Google: Attorneys general combine from Texas, New York, Maine, Arizona, Missouri...

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Get ready to be probed by the Antitrust Voltron, Google: Attorneys general combine from Texas, New York, Maine, Arizona, Missouri...

Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story [theregister.co.uk]:

The attorneys general of 50 US states and territories are teaming up to probe Google for possible antitrust violations, Ken Paxton, the AG for Texas, announced on Monday.

The bipartisan push involves 48 states, with only Alabama and California – the latter being the home of Google and Silicon Valley – declining to take part. Washington DC, and Puerto Rico, a US protectorate, have stepped up, though, bringing the total number of prosecutors to 50.

California Assemblyman member Jordan Cunnigham (R-San Luis Obispo) expressed disappointment that California’s State Attorney Xavier Becerra isn’t part of the monopoly probe. “Attorney General Becerra’s refusal to join the bipartisan investigation into the tech giants is embarrassing. California deserves to be at the table,” he said.

Paxton will be leading the probe [texasattorneygeneral.gov]. Josh Hawley, the Attorney General of Missouri, who launched the first investigation [theregister.co.uk] into Google’s alleged anti competitive behavior back in 2017, said [crn.com]:

“I’m heartened to see a new group of attorneys general with the courage to stand up to these powerful companies and fight for citizens. Big Tech companies should be held accountable if they are violating our privacy or harming our children or killing innovation.”

The initial focus will be on Google’s advertising practices. Ken Walker, SVP of global affairs at the Chocolate Factory, said it welcomed and supported the investigation.

“Google's services help people, create more choice, and support thousands of jobs and small businesses across the United States,' he opined [blog.google].

"Google is one of America’s top spenders on research and development, making investments that spur innovation: Things that were science fiction a few years ago are now free for everyone—translating any language instantaneously, learning about objects by pointing your phone, getting an answer to pretty much any question you might have.

“At the same time, it’s of course right that governments should have oversight to ensure that all successful companies, including ours, are complying with the law. The Department of Justice, for example, has announced that it’s starting a review of online platforms,” he said in a statement.

Google is no stranger to antitrust probes. The European Commission slapped a $1.7bn fine [theregister.co.uk] for breaking EU anti-trust laws in June this year. Officials ruled that the search giant has been dominating online search advertising for decades, taking deliberate steps to keep out competitors like Microsoft and Yahoo! trying to sell its own adverts via Google’s search engine. Google is appealing the fines. ®

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