Nine more states have joined the US Department of Justice’s lawsuit against Alphabet (GOOGL.O) Google.

Source: Pixabay.com

The Ministry claims that the search and advertising company has committed actions that violate the antimonopoly legislation. The prosecution claims that ignoring the norms was allowed in the conduct of digital advertising business. The states that joined the US Department of Justice’s lawsuit are Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Arizona, Washington, West Virginia, and North Carolina.

The government, which filed a lawsuit against ad tech in January along with eight states, said that measures should be taken to force the tech giant to decide to sell the ad manager package. Then there were also statements that the company was involved in the abuse of its dominant position in the field of online advertising.

Google claims that the actual activities of the company fully comply with the requirements of the regulatory framework, and the charges are unjustified due to the absence of violations. The tech giant has asked Judge Leonie Brinkema in the Eastern District of Virginia to dismiss the lawsuit. The company also claims that the prosecution maximizes the erroneous argument, and initiatives officially declared as antitrust can slow down the process of implementation of innovation, increase the cost of advertising services and complicate the growth of thousands of small businesses.

Doha Mekki, first deputy assistant attorney general of the antitrust division of the Ministry of Justice, said that the purpose of the upcoming lawsuit based on the lawsuit, which was joined by nine other states, is to abolish Google’s monopoly in the field of digital advertising technologies.

The Justice Department’s lawsuit against ad tech followed a separate lawsuit that was filed in 2020. Then the tech giant was charged with involvement in the violation of antitrust laws. The text of the lawsuit contained allegations that the company resorted to the practice of violations to maintain its dominance as an Internet search resource. The media reports that the trial, in this case, will begin in September 2023.

The Joe Biden administration takes measures to change the norms of antitrust legislation in the direction of tightening. The authorities dispute numerous business mergers.

As we have reported earlier, South Korea Fines Google $32 Million.