Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton will lead 50 attorneys general from across the country in an antitrust investigation into Google and its digital advertising practices in yet another sign of the mounting scrutiny of large tech companies by government officials.
The investigation will look into whether the company, which “dominates all aspects of advertising on the internet and searching on the internet,” has acted in ways that restricted competition or consumer access, Paxton said at a press conference outside the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday. All states but California and Alabama are involved, as well as the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.
“There is nothing wrong with a business becoming the biggest game in town if it does so through free market competition,” Paxton said in a statement, “but we have seen evidence that Google’s business practices may have undermined consumer choice, stifled innovation, violated users’ privacy, and put Google in control of the flow and dissemination of online information.”
Paxton emphasized that the investigation is not a lawsuit and said investigators have already subpoenaed the company.
The inquiries come as the Department of Justice leads its own antitrust investigation into Google, as the company recently acknowledged. The Federal Trade Commission has been conducting its own competition probe of Big Tech, as has the House Judiciary subcommittee on antitrust.
“Google’s services help people, create more choice, and support thousands of jobs and small businesses across the United States,” said Kent Walker, Google’s senior vice president of global affairs, in a statement.
“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 … We have always worked constructively with regulators and we will continue to do so.”
It’s too soon to say, Paxton said Monday, what potential remedies could be sought with an investigation like this.
Google, far and away the largest online advertiser in the world, will control 31.1% of digital ad dollars in 2019, or $103.73 billion, according to market research company eMarketer. Facebook, much further behind in second place, will follow with $67.37 billion.
Last year, more than 85 percent of the revenue generated by Google’s parent company Alphabet, Inc. came from advertising, according to company filings.
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