The Department of Justice and 11 states filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google yesterday. The lawsuit alleges that Google unlawfully maintains monopolies in its search and advertising businesses by using anti-competitive practices such as pre-installing its search product on mobile devices and forming “de facto” exclusive partnerships with manufacturers (e.g. Apple). Google criticized the lawsuit as “deeply flawed,” in a detailed response yesterday.
More context: The lawsuit marks the highest-profile US antitrust case since the DOJ filed an antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft in 1998 (wiki). That case ended with a settlement and largely left Microsoft intact.
Extra: Read the DOJ’s press release and Google’s response.
