The US Justice Department should expand its antitrust investigation of Alphabet Inc.’s Google to include the internet giant’s conduct in online search, in addition to digitial advertising, two senators said.
According to Bloomberg, Missouri Republican Josh Hawley and Democrat Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut said Tuesday that the department’s inquiry appears to be too narrowly focused on advertising even though the company is a monopoly in internet search, “where the opportunities for anticompetitive conduct are substantial.”
“It is critical to remember that the company’s primary function is supplying a search engine to users,” they wrote to Attorney General William Barr. “Narrowing the investigation’s focus such that Google’s anti-competitive practices to dominate the online search market is not captured does a grave disservice to consumers.”
The senators’ plea comes as the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing Tuesday to examine claims that internet platforms like Google favor their own services over those of rivals. Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota said she was introducing legislation that would toughen antitrust enforcement by putting the burden on companies to justify conduct that thwarts rivals.
“All of us hear stories about how these companies are leveraging their scale or financial resources with unparalled access to users’ data and market power,” she said.
Executives of Yelp Inc., which has long complained that Google is thwarting competition in the market for local searches, told the senators on Judiciary’s antitrust subcommittee that reports the Justice Department is focused on Google’s conduct in the digital advertising market are a concern.
“Making the focus too narrow would be a grave mistake,” Luther Lowe, Yelp’s senior vice president for public policy, said in written testimony. “You can’t look at Standard Oil without looking at oil. You cannot investigate Google without looking at search.”
Featured News
FTC Urged to Enforce Rarely Used Antitrust Law Against Retail Giants
Mar 28, 2024 by
CPI
UK’s Fingleton Bolsters Team with New Additions
Mar 28, 2024 by
CPI
Britain’s Competition Regulator Clears Aviva’s Acquisition of AIG Life UK
Mar 28, 2024 by
CPI
White House Implements New AI Safeguards to Protect Rights and Safety
Mar 28, 2024 by
CPI
Denver Court Sets August Date for Kroger-Albertsons Merger Showdown
Mar 28, 2024 by
CPI
Antitrust Mix by CPI
Antitrust Chronicle® – Real Estate & Antitrust
Mar 27, 2024 by
CPI
Systematic National Evidence of Steering by Real Estate Agents
Mar 27, 2024 by
CPI
Compliance Now! Actionable Antitrust Advice for the Residential Real Estate Industry
Mar 27, 2024 by
CPI
Real Estate Commissions: Some Insights from the Economics of Multi-Sided Platforms
Mar 27, 2024 by
CPI
New Ideas for Promoting Real Estate Brokerage Price Competition
Mar 27, 2024 by
CPI