Google antitrust probe: What's happening and how it affects you
Google is officially the focus of a sweeping antitrust investigation.
Attorneys general for all 50 US states and territories on Monday announced a wide-ranging review into Google, to explore whether it threatens competition, consumers, and internet growth. According to [The Wall Street Journal,][2] the Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, while out front of the Supreme Court, described Google dominating "all aspects of advertising and searching on the internet.
Just six years ago, the FTC closed an investigation into search and advertising and chose not to break up Google. Since then, Google has faced much scrutiny, even racking up over $9 billion in competition-related fines in Europe over the past three years. Both the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission are also [currently investigating whether Big Tech][3] as a whole has hurt consumers and stifled competition in the US.
To be clear, Google is only under investigation at this point, and no lawsuit has been brought forth. Paxton said the initial focus is online advertising, too, but attorneys general from some states, including Florida, Louisiana, and Nebraska, expressed their concerns over other issues, like the way Google ranks search results and if it really protects users personal information.
"When there is no longer a free market or competition, this increases prices, even when something is marketed as free, and harms consumers," said Florida state attorney general Ashley Moody, a Republican. "Is something really free if we are increasingly giving over our privacy information? Is something really free if online ad prices go up based on one company's control?"
When reached for comment, a Google spokesperson shared a [blog post][4] from Friday, when it admitted it had received requests for information from the Department of Justice and said it expects state attorneys general to ask more questions. "We have always worked constructively with regulators and we will continue to do so," Google said in Friday's post.
* [How to quickly delete your Google search data][5]
## How will this affect you?
Regulatory action on big tech companies on a federal level has had little impact on consumers, so far. In the past, it usually resulted in fines from the FTC. But antitrust is very different from privacy and consumer protection issues, which is something both [Google][6] and [Facebook][7] have been fined over in the past. Antitrust could impact a company's business models. In the long run, that would affect you.
If the federal or state probes determine that Google has exhibited anti-competitive behavior, for instance, it could be forced to change its algorithms to make it easier for rivals to compete, and it might even be compelled to spin-off entire business arms like YouTube.
[1]: https://cdn.pocket-lint.com/r/s/748x/assets/images/149290-news-google-image1-zvje7h84go.jpg?v1
[2]: http://%20https//www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/09/09/states-us-territories-announce-broad-antitrust-investigation-google/
[3]: https://www.pocket-lint.com/apps/news/148753-doj-is-investigating-whether-big-tech-companies-stifle-competition-hurt-consumers
[4]: https://www.blog.google/outreach-initiatives/public-policy/consumer-choice-competition-innovation/
[5]: https://www.pocket-lint.com/apps/news/google/146121-how-to-quickly-delete-your-google-search-data
[6]: https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2019/09/google-youtube-will-pay-record-170-million-alleged-violations
[7]: https://www.wsj.com/articles/ftc-approves-roughly-5-billion-facebook-settlement-11562960538?mod=e2tw
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