Google faces a new antitrust probe by 50 attorneys general

Texas will lead a joint state investigation into Google over antitrust concerns, state Attorney General Ken Paxton announces Monday.

  • The news follows the announcement of a joint state Facebook probe led by the attorney general of New York.
  • Google is also reportedly facing an antitrust probe from the U.S. Department of Justice.

Fifty attorneys general are joining an investigation into Google over possible antitrust violations, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, the initiative's leader, announced Monday.

The news confirms reports last week about the bipartisan investigation into Google's practices. The probe includes attorneys general from 48 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. California and Alabama are not involved in the probe, Paxton said at a press conference.

Other attorneys general at the media conference emphasized Google's dominance in the ad market and use of consumer data.

"When there is no longer a free market or competition, this increases prices, even when something is marketed as free, and harms consumers," said Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, a Republican. "Is something really free if we are increasingly giving over our privacy information? Is something really free if online ad prices go up based on one company's control?"

An antitrust probe into Facebook was announced on Friday by New York Attorney General Letitia James, who will lead the case. Attorneys general from seven states plus the District of Columbia are participating in the Facebook investigation.

At the press conference Monday, D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine, a Democrat, said it "remains to be seen" if the two probes will be "a coordinated expansion."

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By Lauren Feiner
(Source: cnbc.com; September 9, 2019; https://is.gd/wc5PYw)
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