Justice ready to charge Google with monopoly search practices

“…Insiders expect the Justice Department to charge Google with violating antitrust laws this week, in what would be the biggest such action against a U.S. tech company in two decades. But questions still swirl around how broad and tight Justice’s case will be.

Why it matters: The suit against Google will focus on monopolistic behavior, but it’s also likely to be the last chance for the Trump Administration to act against the tech giants it blames for anti-conservative bias before an election that could oust it.

Where it stands: The case is expected to focus on allegations of competitive abuses related to search.

• • The Justice Department and a group of state attorneys general have also been investigating Google’s advertising business. One remedy proposal under discussion is to require Google to sell off its Chrome browser, Politico reports.

Between the lines: Proving today’s tech giants are monopolists who cause consumer harm is challenging since companies like Google give most of their ad-supported services away for free.

The intrigue: In a sprawling report released last week, House Democrats made the case that Google does in fact hold a harmful monopoly in search.

• • They contended the company uses its existing market dominance, control of the Android operating system and financial and technological might to quash competition, thereby denying consumers the benefits of a healthy search market.
  • Some Republican lawmakers who worked on the congressional investigation objected to the report, in part because they wanted it to focus on allegations of bias.
  • It’s still unclear just how the DOJ will make its case, but they may end up making arguments similar to the House report, despite the partisan gulf between Democratic lawmakers and a GOP administration…”