The US Department of Justice on Tuesday accused Google of squelching competition in search and search-advertising, in a lawsuit that marks the beginning of a historic antitrust case against a powerful technology company.
The lawsuit called Google “a monopoly gatekeeper for the internet” and alleged that the company, owned by Alphabet, had used a “web of exclusionary” deals to stymie competitors in the search business.
“If we let Google continue its anti-competitive ways, we will lose the next wave of innovators and Americans may never get to benefit from the ‘next Google’,” said William Barr, the US attorney-general. “The time has come to restore competition to this vital industry,” he added.