Illinois Sues Google For Alleged Illegal Search Engine Monopoly

CHICAGO — Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and a bipartisan coalition of 38 other states' attorneys general have sued Google over an alleged illegal search engine monopoly. According to the suit, filed Thursday in federal court in Chicago, the technology company's anticompetitive practices have hurt consumers by taking away their choices, stifling innovation and undermining privacy protections.

“For years, Google has engaged in anticompetitive behavior and conduct to illegally maintain its monopoly as an online search engine,” Raoul said in a statement. “Google’s actions have not only negatively affected competition, advertisers, and business, but have also risked the privacy of consumers and left them with few alternatives to Google’s platform."

Google is charged with violating Section 2 of the Sherman Antitrust Act, specifically using exclusionary agreements to limit the ability of rivals to reach customers, favoring advertisers on its own platform over those on competitors like Bing, and discriminating against specialized search sites, such as those for travel, home repair or entertainment services.

"Consumers deserve to have a choice and the confidence that they are getting the best search results, not just the results that Google wants them to see," Raoul said. "I am joining my colleagues in this lawsuit to ask the court to end Google’s monopoly and remove the barriers it created for potential competitors.”

According to the coalition, more competition in the search engine market could lead to better privacy protections, better-quality advertising and lower prices. However, if left (quite literally) to its own devices, Google could further monopolize emerging technologies like smart speakers, smart televisions and smart cars, the suit claims.

The U.S. Department of Justice filed a separate antitrust lawsuit against Google in October alleging similar conduct.

"Today, millions of Americans rely on the Internet and online platforms for their daily lives. Competition in this industry is vitally important, which is why today’s challenge against Google — the gatekeeper of the Internet — for violating antitrust laws is a monumental case both for the Department of Justice and for the American people,” Attorney General William Barr said at the time. “This lawsuit strikes at the heart of Google’s grip over the internet for millions of American consumers, advertisers, small businesses and entrepreneurs beholden to an unlawful monopolist.”

Google accounts for almost 90 percent of all online searches in the United States, according to DOJ officials, who compared it to Microsoft in 1998, AT&T in 1974 or Standard Oil at the turn of the last century in terms of market power. All three of those companies drew the ire of federal regulators, and their monopolies were busted by court order.

Earlier this month, Illinois joined a similar suit against Facebook, arguing the social media giant has spent years buying out the competition to build a "moat" around the company.

According to that complaint, Facebook has used a "systematic strategy" to eliminate threats to its business, including buying up rivals like Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014, both of which were perceived as an "existential threat to Facebook's monopoly power."

Both suits threaten to break up the tech giants and ask the courts to determine whether additional relief to consumers may be appropriate. In its most recent complaint, Illinois asks for a court to stop Google's alleged illegal conduct and "restore a competitive marketplace" by "unwinding any advantages that Google has gained as a result of its anticompetitive conduct, including divestiture of assets as appropriate."

Google called the claims "meritless" and promised to strongly defend itself in court.