Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron joined a multistate coalition Wednesday in filing a lawsuit against Google for alleged monopolization in online advertising.
Google is accused of violating federal and state antitrust laws through anticompetitive conduct, exclusionary practices, and deceptive misrepresentations for its role in the multibillion-dollar online display advertising industry.
Cameron said Google’s anticompetitive and deceptive online advertising business practices “harmed consumers and businesses, and have no place in Kentucky’s marketplace.” He said they joined the lawsuit to restore free-market competition in the online display advertising industry, as well as to ensure Google complies with state and federal laws.
Google processes 90-percent of all online searches in the United States, making up the foundation of its massive advertising business, generating nearly all of its annual $160 billion in sales. Google is accused of hurting competitors by giving priority to its own products over its competitors. Critics complain the tech giant takes content from publishers and uses it in prepared answers directly in search results, rather than simply providing a list of links that sends users to other sites.
Additionally, the lawsuit charges Google engaged in false, misleading, and deceptive acts while selling, buying, and auctioning online display ads. These anticompetitive and deceptive practices harmed publishers’ ability to monetize content, increased advertisers’ costs to advertise, and directly harmed consumers.
Parties in the suit claim Google’s monopolization of online display advertising includes an anticompetitive agreement with Facebook, misrepresenting customers, suppressing competition, and harming consumers in violation of antitrust and consumer protection laws.
The multistate lawsuit follows a similar one courtesy of the U.S. Department of Justice against Google, alleging Google holds monopolies in search and search advertising.
Attorney General Cameron was joined by attorneys general from nine other states in filing the lawsuit.
