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.

Bill Barr calls on Senate GOP to confirm Todd Blanche for attorney general

New limited-edition US passport features Trump’s image and a warning

Judge Shuts Down Tyler Robinson’s Attempt to Dodge Death Penalty

Trump Says Iran Just Committed ‘a Foolish Violation of Our Ceasefire Agreement’

House Democrat lashes out when grilled on whether socialist victories would threaten Dem unity

Trump commission unveils 12-point blueprint to expand US religious liberty protections

Former youth pastor, Vegas yoga instructor charged in wife’s mystery death kills himself in custody: officials

Watch: JD Vance Has Hilarious ‘Note to Protesters’ Yelling at Him in a Foreign Language

DHS Delivers Bad News for 300,000 Haitians in the US: ‘It’s Closing Time’

New York City pours $15M into sex change initiatives as Mamdani accuses federal government of intimidation

Socialists sweep NYC as Americans balk at movement’s brutal catch: ‘Talk to immigrants’

Emailer in Nancy Guthrie case claims to possess video of ‘main guy’ with Savannah Guthrie’s mother

Clinton judge orders DOJ to unseal the Epstein files it has been keeping hidden

Pilot Teams Up with Daughter on His Final Flight for Southwest

Luigi Mangione’s team fires back at plea deal report, calls leaks threat to fair trial

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.