According to Bloomberg, unlike the first antitrust lawsuit the US has brought against Google, the second lawsuit will directly target whether the "search giant" is using its dominance to illegally control the online advertising market.
Currently, lawyers from the US Department of Justice are completing interviews with content release units to gather more evidence. These new interviews are expected to be based on previous interviews conducted over several years of investigation.
In early 2020, the US Department of Justice sued Google and accused the company of monopolizing the online search market. At the time, lawyers said that forcing the company to force Android phone manufacturers to set Google as a default search engine would make it impossible for other competitors to compete and Google could earn huge amounts of money from advertising.
However, Google has denied that and said that users choose their products simply because of good quality, convenience, not because there are no other options. In 2020, Texas also filed a multi-state lawsuit against Google, accusing the company of using exclusive power to control and evaluate advertising.
Google's advertising activities are being closely monitored, not only in the US but also in other places around the world. Bloomberg added that the European Commission has opened an investigation to see whether Google has limited access to competitors' user data for advertising purposes.
On Google's side, spokesperson Peter Schottenfels said that their advertising technology helps websites and apps advertise content. Small businesses can reach more customers thanks to advertising on Google. Google will protect the company's advertising business and has not announced how it will address the issue.
