PA Among 38 States Suing Google For Alleged Anti-Trust Violations

HARRISBURG, PA — Pennsylvania is one of 38 states that have filed an anti-trust lawsuit against Google, contending that the search behemoth has an illegal monopoly on the online search market.

The lawsuit alleges that consumers and advertisers are harmed by Google's monopoly over general search engines and related advertising markets through a series of anticompetitive exclusionary contracts and conduct. The lawsuit also contends Google's lack of competition has deprived consumers of greater search choices and improved privacy protections.

Google also has accumulated and leveraged data to consumers' detriment.

“Right now, consumers and small businesses are beholden to Google’s promise that Big Tech knows what’s best for user data," Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro said in a new release.

"Their anticompetitive practices have built a monopoly over search—a backbone of the internet — that stifles innovation and economic growth, all while giving them unprecedented advertising profits and access to consumer information and the ability to obstruct the flow of data to their users."

In Pennsylvania, Google has had offices in Pittsburgh for more than 15 years and currently employs more than 700 workers there. Google's Pittsburgh office has launched products such as the Sky Map app, Google Shopping and Face Unlock technology. AdSense and AdWords also were developed there.

The lawsuit was filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. by a bipartisan group of state attorneys general.

Participating states in the litigation include Alaska, Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wyoming, the District of Columbia, and the territories of Guam and Puerto Rico.