United States of America: Public lawsuit filed in the US District Court for the District of Columbia advertising market (United States v. Google)
Description
Public lawsuit filed in the US District Court for the District of Columbia advertising market (United States v. Google)
On 20 October 2020, the Department of Justice (DOJ) along with eleven state Attorneys General (Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, South Carolina, and Texas) filed a complaint with the US District Court for the District of Columbia for allegedly creating and maintaining a monopoly in the search advertising market. The DOJ states that Google did this through anticompetitive behaviour in the form of exclusivity agreements and preferential treatment of Google services, among others. Furthermore, the DOJ and the 11 State Attorneys General demand a remedy for the harm caused by the unlawful practice. The trial is expected to take place in September 2023.
Original sourceScope
Policy Area
Competition
Policy Instrument
Unilateral conduct regulation
Regulated Economic Activity
search service provider
Implementation Level
national
Government Branch
judiciary
Government Body
court
Complete timeline of this policy change
Hide details
2020-10-20
under deliberation
2023-08-04
under investigation
2024-08-05
in force
2024-10-08
under deliberation
2024-11-20
under investigation
2024-12-20
under appeal
Key regulatory dimensions
Regulated subjects
The businesses, government agencies or individuals affected by this policy or regulatory change.
defendant
1
Type
Private organisation
Economic activity
platform intermediary: user-generated content
Category
Firm-specific
Policy change by business practice
The detailed activities within the scope of this policy or regulatory change.
advertisement (any targeting): sale
Regulatory tool
Prohibition of self-preferencing in algorithms or presentation
Prohibition of supplementary contractual obligations
Sanctions
Regulated subjects
1