Trump administration launches antitrust salvo against Google

The Justice Department and several Republican-led states filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google on Tuesday, unleashing the might of the U.S. government against one of Silicon Valley's most powerful companies.

Attorney General William Barr hailed the complaint as a "monumental case." Eleven Republican attorneys general — representing Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, South Carolina and Texas — signed on to the complaint, which was filed in Washington, D.C., federal court..

The Trump administration’s suit, coming just two weeks before Election Day, is the most concrete manifestation yet of Washington’s growing bipartisan anger at tech giants’ heft and wealth. But with no Democratic attorneys general joining DOJ’s case, the lawsuit could face an uncertain future in a potential Joe Biden administration.

Dozens of states — both Republican and Democratic — have been investigating Google on a range of antitrust allegations. DOJ and the states had spent months attempting to find common ground.