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.

House Democrats demand Kash Patel take alcohol test under penalty of perjury after Atlantic report

Minnesota allows ‘happy hour’ in nursing homes under new law easing alcohol restrictions

Top California Dem running for office tied to Chinese school accused of US diploma scandal

Appeals court rules ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ can stay open, rejecting push for federal environmental impact review

EXCLUSIVE: DHS honors angel families during National Crime Victims Week, calls crimes ‘completely preventable’

Democrats win Virginia redistricting fight, threatening Republican House majority

‘Melrose Place’ and ‘Starship Troopers’ Actor Patrick Muldoon Dies at Age 57

Top House Republican Warns Ilhan Omar That Her Financial Disclosure Revision Won’t Save Her

EXCLUSIVE: Pence warns GOP ‘must deliver,’ or Planned Parenthood gets taxpayer cash on Fourth of July deadline

House Republican Campaign Committee Blows Democrats Away with Historic Fundraising Quarter

Pro-Iran Jimmy Kimmel Mocks Peace Talks, Says He’s ‘More Likely to Believe the Ayatollah’ Than Trump

Democrat Trying to Flip Pennsylvania Seat Apologizes for Pro-Police, Pro-Gun, Pro-God Posts

Trump Recounts Helping Out ‘Incomparable’ Tim Cook as Longtime Apple CEO Steps Down

Federal court upholds Texas law requiring Ten Commandments in public classrooms

DOJ says Southern Poverty Law Center funneled $3M+ to white supremacist and extremist groups like the KKK

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.