Justice Department Prepares to Launch Antitrust Investigation into Google

According to recent reports, the U.S. Justice Department is preparing to launch an antitrust investigation into Alphabet Inc.’s Google.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the U.S. Justice Department is preparing to begin an antitrust investigation into Google that could see the tech giant come under a new wave of scrutiny from regulators. According to people familiar with the matter, the antitrust division of the Justice Department has been gathering information and preparing for the investigation for weeks.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which shares antitrust authority with the Justice Department, has previously conducted antitrust investigations into Google on a broader scale but closed the investigation in 2013 with no action taken. Google did, however, make some voluntary changes to some of its business practices as a result of the investigation.

The FTC and Justice Department have been discussing which group will oversee further antitrust investigations of Google, with the FTC agreeing to give the Justice Department full jurisdiction over Google. Now that an understanding has been reached between the two government bodies, the Justice Department is preparing to conduct an in-depth investigation into Google. It has yet to be revealed if the Justice Department has contacted Google in relation to the investigation.

Campaign Blunder Causes Ad for Key Senate Race to Air in the Wrong State on the Opposite End of the Country

Breaking: DOJ Subpoenas Ilhan Omar’s Sister, Other Family Over Evidence of Fraudulent Immigration Paperwork

Pentagon pushes hypersonic weapons production as startups slash costs

Bill Allowing Victims to Sue Judges, Others Who Let Illegals Run Wild Is Quietly Advancing in Congress

‘Bonnie and Clyde’ illegal immigrant couple accused of brazen jewelry theft spree across four states

Democratic Senator Accused of Violating Federal Law with Anti-White X Post

Dem candidate’s bizarre anti-MAGA tirade ends with ‘we have guns too’

UK warns Iran is targeting ‘military sites’ as US and allies recognize growing threat of IRGC ‘hybrid activities’

Coast Guard firefight puts US, Mexico at odds despite coordinated border operations

Judge extends ban on tree removals at East Potomac Golf Links for two weeks

Young South Dakota deputy dies three days after being shot during a confrontation at a home

Lawyers for Charlie Kirk’s accused assassin Tyler Robinson want cameras banned after report on taxpayer burden

Watch: Katie Zacharia Begins Her First White House Press Briefing with a Message to Trump

GOP cuts bait on vulnerable Iowa representative one week after Johnson’s visit

Trump Speaks Out on Ilhan Omar Raid: ‘I Have Nothing to Do with It’

Those familiar with the matter stated that the Justice Department has been in contact with third-party groups that have been critical of Google in the past. The Wall Street Journal reached out to the Justice Department and Google for comment on the matter but did not receive a reply. The FTC declined to comment on the issue.

Breitbart News reported in March of this year that Silicon Valley giant Google has been fined $1.7 billion by the European Union for the company’s third breach of E.U. antitrust laws in three years. The latest fine against the company relates to Google’s AdSense advertising service and “illegal practices in search advertising brokering to cement its dominant market position,” according to European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager.

Vestager and her team concluded that third-party websites that sued Google to power their search and advertising features had “restrictive clauses in contracts” preventing them from hosting ads from rival search engines. In a press release, Vestager stated:

Today the Commission has fined Google €1.49 billion for illegal misuse of its dominant position in the market for the brokering of online search adverts. Google has cemented its dominance in online search adverts and shielded itself from competitive pressure by imposing anti-competitive contractual restrictions on third-party websites. This is illegal under EU antitrust rules. The misconduct lasted over 10 years and denied other companies the possibility to compete on the merits and to innovate – and consumers the benefits of competition.