The long-awaited suit is Washington’s first major blow against the tech giants that many on both the right and left argue have grown too large and powerful. Still, this is just step one in what could be a lengthy and messy court battle.
Google has unfairly dominated the search market by locking in its search engine as the default in browsers and on mobile devices including Apple iPhones and phones that run Google’s own Android operating system, DOJ argues in the suit, filed in the D.C. Circuit Court.
- Google’s use of its own properties and what DOJ charges are exclusionary contracts with other companies have « foreclosed competition for internet search, » the agency says in the suit.
- That in turn has thwarted rivals from effectively competing against Google in search advertising, DOJ contends.
About half of Americans of both parties back the Justice Department’s antitrust lawsuit against Google, while fewer than a third oppose it, according to a new poll from progressive groups Demand Progress and Data for Progress shared exclusively with Axios. Meanwhile, a separate Harris Poll survey, also shared first with Axios, similarly finds Americans overwhelmingly see the big tech companies as having monopoly power that limits competition.
