Nessel joins 37 state attorneys general in antitrust lawsuit against Google

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel on Thursday joined a bipartisan group of state attorneys general who filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google, alleging the search giant illegally maintains a monopoly that hurts consumers and advertisers.

At least 38 states, Washington D.C., Guam, and Puerto Rico have joined the suit, which claims Google sought to suppress competition by monopolizing the online search market.

Nearly 90% of internet searchers in the U.S. are done through Google, leaving consumers with few alternatives over the search engine’s unpopular privacy practices and data-collection policies.

“Google’s alleged aggressive and anticompetitive business practices have allowed it to solidify its grasp on the market and stifled competition to the detriment of consumers,” Nessel said in a statement Thursday. “By monopolizing the internet search functions used by so many, and the lucrative advertisements that are tied to it, the company has established significant control over what marketing products are being pushed out to consumers, the search results users are presented and, most importantly, the data those users have – in some cases, unwittingly – provided. This is an unlawful practice that must be corrected to provide the market with competitive alternatives to improve search-engine capabilities for the benefit of consumers.” 

The lawsuit is at least the third legal action against Google in the past two months as attorneys general and the Justice Department try to crack down on what they believe is an abuse of power that harms others businesses, innovation, and consumers.

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