A lawsuit by 38 U.S. states and territories accuses Google
of abusing its market power to try to make its search engine as dominant inside
cars, TVs and speakers as it is in phones.
Big Tech platforms Alphabet Inc's Google and Facebook were
hit with a series of antitrust lawsuits by the U.S. federal government and
states on charges they are operating monopolies and abusing their power.
Below is the status of the cases, as well as government
probes of Apple and Amazon.com.
Two lawsuits against Facebook:
In a stunning defeat, Judge James Boasberg said the Federal
Trade Commission - which had sued Facebook in December asking that Facebook be
forced to sell WhatsApp and Instagram - failed to show that Facebook had
monopoly power in the social-networking market, among other problems. He
said,however, the FTC could file a new complaint by July 29.
He threw out a related state lawsuit entirely, saying that
the attorneys general had waited too long. They are looking at their options.
Four lawsuits against Google
The U.S. Justice Department sued Google in October, accusing
the $1 trillion company of illegally using its market muscle to hobble rivals.
A trial date was set for Sept. 12,2023.
A lawsuit by 38 U.S. states and territories accuses Google
of abusing its market power to try to make its search engine as dominant inside
cars, TVs and speakers as it is in phones. This was consolidated with the
federal lawsuit for purposes of discovery.
Texas, backed by other states, filed a separate lawsuit
against Google, accusing it of breaking antitrust law in how it runs its online
advertising business.
Dozens of state attorneys general sued Google on July
7,alleging that it bought off competitors and used restrictive contracts to
unlawfully maintain a monopoly for its app store on Android phones.
Justice Department investigates Apple:
This probe, revealed in June 2019, appears to focus on Apple
Inc's app store. Some app developers have accused Apple of introducing new
products very similar to existing apps created by other developers and sold in
the Apple Store, and then trying to banish the older apps from the store
because they compete with Apple's new product. Apple says it seeks to have only
the highest-quality apps in the app store.
Justice Department probing Facebook and Amazon:
In July 2019, the Justice Department said it was expanding
its Big Tech probes to include "search, social media, and some retail
services online" - an apparent reference to Facebook and Amazon.com Inc.
Federal Trade Commission on Amazon:
In its investigation of Amazon, the FTC is likely looking at
the inherent conflict of interest of Amazon competing with small sellers on its
marketplace platform, including allegations that it used information from
sellers on its platform to decide what products it would introduce.
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