Iowa, 37 other states sue Google over alleged advertising, search monopoly

By: Perry Beeman - December 17, 2020 1:49 pm

(Photo by Getty Images)

Attorneys general from Iowa and 37 other states are suing Google LLC for alleged anti-competitive conduct.

Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller and his colleagues allege that Google has used exclusionary contacts and conduct to illegally maintain a monopoly on general search engines and related advertising markets.

Tom Miller is Iowa’s 33rd attorney general. Photo courtesy of Iowa Attorney General’s Office.

The company has used that power to “accumulate and leverage data to the detriment of consumers,” the attorneys general said.

“Combined with the other recent lawsuits filed against Google, never before have so many states and the federal government come together to challenge a company with such power,” Miller said. “Google has more data on consumers, and more variety of information, than perhaps any entity in history.”

The states’ complaint in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia comes after a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Justice on Oct. 2. The federal government alleged that Google improperly maintains its monopoly power in general search and search advertising through the use of exclusionary agreements.

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Perry Beeman

Perry Beeman has nearly 40 years of experience in Iowa journalism and has won national awards for environmental and business writing. He has written for The Des Moines Register and the Business Record, where he also served as managing editor. He also is former editorial director of Grinnell College. He co-authored the recently published book, "The $80 Billion Gamble," which details the lottery-rigging case of Eddie Tipton.