The U.S. Justice Department filed its second antitrust lawsuit against Google in just over two years, this time targeting its advertising business.It comes soon after reports that DOJ Antitrust Division chief Jonathan Kanter had been cleared to work on Google matters.in just over two years. It's the latest sign that the U.S.
In its lawsuit, the Justice Department and the states argue that Google sought to control all sides of the market, realizing"it could become 'the be-all, and end-all location for all ad serving.'""Google would no longer have to compete on the merits; it could simply set the rules of the game to exclude rivals," they allege.
"In effect, Google was robbing from Peter to pay Paul , all the while collecting a hefty transaction fee for its own privileged position in the middle," the enforcers allege."Rather than helping to fund website publishing, Google was siphoning off advertising dollars for itself through the imposition of supra-competitive fees on its platforms.