"On October 20, 2020, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and
11 state attorneys general filed a lawsuit against Google
LLC under Section 2 of the Sherman Act (15 U.S.C. § 2).
The lawsuit alleges that Google unlawfully maintains
“monopolies in the markets for general search services,
search advertising, and general search text advertising in
the United States through anti competitive and exclusionary
practices.” CRS Legal Sidebar LSB10544, The Google
Antitrust Lawsuit: Initial Observations, by Jay B. Sykes
provides an in-depth discussion of the DOJ lawsuit.
The DOJ lawsuit suggests structural relief—potentially
involving divestitures of specific operations—as part of the
potential remedy for Google’s alleged anti competitive
conduct.Because the lawsuit focuses on Google’s conduct
in search services and search advertising, any structural
remedies would likely focus on these services. For example,
if the court finds that Google violated Section 2 of the
Sherman Act, it could order the separation of Google’s
search services and search advertising from its other
products or only from specific products, such as the
company’s mobile operating system Android and its
browser Chrome.
Over the last two years, some Members of Congress have
raised broader concerns about Google’s conduct in markets
other than search services in congressional hearings and in
a report issued by the House Subcommittee on Antitrust,
Commercial, and Administrative Law, Investigation of
Competition in Digital Markets. This In Focus explores
some of these additional competition concerns that may not
be addressed by the DOJ lawsuit..."
Google
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