The Justice Department and a coalition of state attorneys general are likely to file antitrust charges against Google in the coming months, according to a new report by The Wall Street Journal. The reporting is consistent with earlier statements by Attorney General William Barr, who said he expected a decision to be made sometime this summer.
It is unclear if states will file their own complains or simply join in on a federal case.
A spokesperson for Google told the Journal that they will continue to engage with the ongoing investigations led by the Justice Department and Attorney General Paxton and don’t have any updates or comments on speculation. “Our focus is firmly on providing services that help consumers, support thousands of businesses and enable increased choice and competition,” the spokesperson added.
Although all signs point to a case materializing, no final decisions have been made yet, sources said.
The investigation encompasses Google search because of its role in the ad business, but it does not involve the various platform moderation decisions made by Google on either YouTube or the Google Play Store. Still, conservative ire at perceived bias in Google’s moderation has become an important rallying point for Republicans, and it has stoked much of the political drive to prosecute the company.
As Google has grown the size and scope of its operations, critics have increasingly called for the company to be broken up. Just last year, for example, Senator Elizabeth Warren said during her presidential campaign that tech giants like Amazon, Facebook and Google should be broken up because they have too much power over the economy, society and democracy.
