A group of 10 Republican-led US states has opened a new front in US antitrust actions against Google, charging the internet group with abusing its monopoly over parts of the online advertising market and colluding with Facebook to shut out rival ad exchanges.
The allegation that Google worked with Facebook to carve up advertising profits adds a new twist to the multiplying lawsuits that claim the world’s biggest tech companies have acted together to buttress their power.
The case comes two months after the Department of Justice, backed by 11 states, accused Google of using a web of contracts and partnerships with other companies to block distribution of rival search engines.