Google’s antitrust issues are on the verge of getting much worse, as Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton warns state lawsuits may be coming.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google in October, after an extensive investigation into the company’s business and practices. Even then, some of the veteran DOJ lawyers wanted additional time to make their case before filing, but Attorney General (AG) William Barr pushed head with the case.
At the heart of the case is Google’s dominance of the search industry, where the company currently controls roughly 90% of the US market. This has made it difficult for other search engines, such as Microsoft Bing and DuckDuckGo, to compete on even terms. Google’s deals with device manufactures, such as Apple, to make their search engine the default only serve to strengthen its position and make it even harder for smaller companies to compete.
It appears a number of states are set to file their own lawsuits. According to Bloomberg, Texas AG Paxton said state lawsuits could be filed “in the upcoming weeks and months.”