Google vs. USA: Major Antitrust Case in XXL Format

A huge lawsuit has started against Google in the US. It’s the most significant competitive case since the government took Microsoft to court 25 years ago.

vOr a decade ago, Google had to fear an antitrust lawsuit in its American homeland. The regulator, the FTC, had been investigating Internet companies’ business practices for nearly two years over concerns they stifled competition in its markets. As is often the case when its authority is questioned, the company defended itself by saying the competition was “a click away”. In the end it went down lightly. It offered minor concessions as part of a settlement, and the FTC declined to prosecute.

Critics saw the deal as further evidence of the toothlessness of American competition watchdogs. In the years that followed, Google was primarily targeted by European authorities. Between 2017 and 2019, the EU Commission imposed three antitrust fines on Google, totaling eight billion euros.