Washington: The US Justice Department and 11 states filed an antitrust lawsuit against Alphabet Inc’s Google on Tuesday for allegedly breaking the law in using its market power to fend off rivals. Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Google, whose search engine is so ubiquitous that its name has become a verb, had revenue of $162 billion in 2019, more than the nation of Hungary.
Republican Senator Josh Hawley, a vociferous Google critic, accused the company of keeping power through illegal means and called the lawsuit the most important antitrust case in a generation.
The lawsuit promises to be the biggest antitrust case in a generation, comparable to the lawsuit against Microsoft Corp filed in 1998 and the 1974 case against AT&T which led to the breakup of the Bell System.
Microsoft lawsuit was credited with paving the way for the explosive growth of the internet as the antitrust probe prevented the firm from attempting to thwart competitors.
The federal lawsuit marks a rare moment of agreement between the Trump administration and progressive Democrats. US Senator Elizabeth Warren tweeted on Sept 10, using the hash tag #BreakUpBigTech, that she wanted swift, aggressive action. Shares of Alphabet rose nearly 1 per cent after news the government lawsuit was imminent.