The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

48 US states support antitrust investigations against Google

2019-09-09T21:52:56.612Z


Google is coming under pressure because of its business practices: Almost all US states have joined investigations into possible antitrust violations. Main charge: obstruction of the advertising business in the network.



The US antitrust investigations against the Internet giant Google are supported by a major alliance: 48 US states and the Washington DC and Puerto Rico government have joined an initiative to advance the investigation. The alliance is led by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

According to Paxton, the investigation will first clarify whether Google has hindered competition in the Internet advertising business. But they could - depending on the result - be extended to other areas.

Google not alone with allegations

"If there is no free market or competition, it increases prices - even if something is marketed for free - and harms consumers," said Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody. The investigation comes as no surprise for Google - the parent company Alphabet had already declared on Friday in a statement to the stock exchange supervision to expect investigation inquiries. However, a surprising number of states participate, only California and Alabama are not present.

The investigation increases the pressure on the because of their great market power long disputed subsidiary of the US Internet company Alphabet. But Google is not alone in sight. On Friday, an alliance of US states had announced a competitive test against Facebook.

The federal government in Washington also has the big tech platforms on the Kieker - the Ministry of Justice had already announced in July to investigate whether the dominance of the corporations is too large and they harm innovations and consumers. In addition to Google and Facebook, Amazon should also be in the focus of the investigation.

Google and Amazon are also the focus of competition proceedings of the European Commission. US authorities have often been accused of being too lax about tech companies. The Internet companies are increasingly getting caught between the political fronts. US President Donald Trump and his supporters accuse the online giants of suppressing conservative votes. Their opponents make a lack of regulation of the corporations jointly responsible for the widespread use of hate, hate and manipulation in the network.

Source: spiegel

All business articles on 2019-09-09

You may like

Trends 24h

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.