California, home of the Google campus in Mountain View, would join a group of Republican-led states in the Justice Department lawsuit.
Photo: Images by Cayce Clifford
WASHINGTON—The state of California on Friday filed court papers seeking to join the Justice Department’s antitrust lawsuit against Alphabet Inc.’s GOOG 0.36% Google.
The Justice Department and a group of 11 state attorneys general, all Republicans, filed the case in October, alleging Google uses anticompetitive tactics to preserve a monopoly for its flagship search engine and related advertising business. The company denies the allegations.
California would be the first Democratic-led state to join the case.
“Google’s market dominance leaves consumers and small businesses with little choice when it comes to internet search engines. By using exclusionary agreements to dominate the market, Google has stifled competition and rigged the advertising market. We look forward to litigating this case to restore competition and innovation for California consumers,” California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said. “This lawsuit paves the way for search engine innovation with greater regard for privacy and data protection.”
A Google spokeswoman said, “People use Google because they choose to, not because they’re forced to, or because they can’t find alternatives. We’re confident in our position and we’ll continue to make our case in court.”
The action, in the form of a motion to join the Justice Department as a plaintiff, marks a setback for Google, which is based in Mountain View, Calif.
Mr. Becerra’s move could help placate Republican critics as he seeks confirmation next year as President-elect Joe Biden’s nominee to be secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.
Write to John McKinnon at [email protected] and Brent Kendall at [email protected]
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