U.S. states sue Google over monopoly

Texas and nine other states on Wednesday said the tech giant has wrongfully controlled prices of online advertisements, fixed the market in its favor, and eliminated competition. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton had led a 2019 investigation with 49 other U.S. states and territories into Google’s “potential monopolistic behavior.” The company dismissed the lawsuit as “baseless.”

What changes are the states seeking? The lawsuit is the latest U.S. government effort to rein in big tech companies. The states asked for Google to pay monetary damages and for the court to set up “structural relief to restore competitive conditions in the relevant markets.” In the first nine months of this year, the company's advertising sales reached about $101 billion, making up 86 percent of its total revenue. The Justice Department sued Google in October, accusing the company of abusing its dominance in online search and advertising.

Dig deeper: Read Samantha Gobba’s report in The Sift on a similar lawsuit against Facebook.