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The Department of Justice (DoJ) of the United States sued Google on Tuesday, 20 October, alleging that the company had abused its position, that harms competitors and the consumers.
The DoJ, which is also joined by eleven states of the US, filed a lawsuit against Google “for unlawfully maintaining a monopoly in general search services and search advertising.”
The timing of the lawsuit is questioned by many as this was also one of the poll promises made by the US President Donald Trump.
In a statement, Deputy Attorney General of the DoJ Jeffrey A Rosen said that the main concerns are the business practices that have led to the ‘concentration of economic powers’ in few companies.
Google rejected these allegations made by the government as “deeply flawed”. The company in its defence said that all its customers are coming by choice and not by force.
Although the lawsuit is first of its kind, experts say that it could turn out to be a case like that of Microsoft where the trial went on for years.
Governments around the world, including India, are trying to regulate these tech giants.
Interestingly, unlike companies like Amazon and Facebook, where Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg face the trail – being the founders of their companies – in the case of Google, Sundar Pichai will face the challenge.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)