Google is subject to antitrust investigations by 50 US states

On Monday, 50 attorney general from the US states and territories signed an antitrust investigation against Google, creating unprecedented pressure on the The technology giant is facing tight scrutiny from the government due to its dominance in the market.

The investigation, led by Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton from Texas, will focus primarily on Google’s search and advertising business. But in the comments made on Monday, the attorney general said that their investigation could be further expanded.

” It’s not wrong for a business to become the biggest player in its field if it does so through a free market, but we see evidence that Google’s business has diminished. user choice, curbing competition, violating user privacy and allowing Google to control the flow and dissemination of information online . ” Mr. Paxton said.

In parallel with state investigations, the US Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission FTC are also investigating these companies because of concerns that they are holding back competition in the industry. In a recent quarterly earnings report, Facebook revealed that FTC opened an antitrust investigation into the company in June. And in July of last year, the US Department of Justice announced its own antitrust investigation into the entire technology sector.

In an August conference, the head of the Justice Department’s antitrust division, Makan Delrahim, told reporters that the ministry was working with state attorneys general to investigate antitrust violations. can happen in technology.

Last Friday, New York Attorney General, Letitia James, also announced a similar investigation targeting Facebook about whether the company “endangers consumer data, reduces the quality of selections for Facebook.” consumers, or does advertising prices increase? ” Her investigation also involved attorneys from states like Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee and the District of Columbia.

Refer to The Verge