Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton says that five additional states and territories have joined its lawsuit against Google, which alleges antitrust violations and deceptive acts by the technology behemoth.
The lawsuit accuses Alphabet Inc.’s Google of collecting thousands of data points about people and using that information for its own benefit and for “lying to advertisers, publishers, and consumers” about their conduct and motives.
It alleges that Google had “monopolized or attempted to monopolize” products and services used by advertisers and publishers in online-display advertising. These practices, the lawsuit argues, then reduces the publishers’ ability to monetize content, increases advertisers’ costs to advertise, and directly harmed consumers.
“We will not allow this unprecedented, unlawful conduct to continue. Our coalition looks forward to holding Google accountable for its illegal conduct and reforming Google’s practices in the future. And we are confident Google will be forced to pay for its misconduct through significant financial penalties,” he added.
The lawsuit suggested Facebook eventually “curtailed its involvement” with the project after Google gave Facebook “information, speed, and other advantages in the [redacted] auctions that Google runs for publishers’ mobile app advertising inventory each month in the United States.”
In a recent interview, Paxton expressed confidence in the trajectory of his lawsuit, saying that he believes that there is a high likelihood of success.
He argued that Google’s digital advertising business model presents a conflict of interest because it represents both buyers and sellers of online advertising.
“[Google represents] the buyers of advertising, the sellers of advertising, and they control the exchange,” Paxton told the news outlet.
“It would be like Goldman Sachs owning the only exchange and representing all the buyers and sellers at the same time, knowing all the information, and therefore, they can massively profit at the expense of these business owners who then have to pass on those costs to consumers. So consumers are paying an exorbitantly high price for use of the Internet without even knowing it.”
Other states that have joined in Texas’s suit include Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Utah.
The Lone Star State has been cracking down on the monopolistic ways in which Silicon Valley companies have been operating, including how they moderate user content.
These companies have been scrutinized repeatedly for their perceived political bias and alleged unbalanced moderation of users’ content. Critics say much of the companies’ moderation in the past year has focused on conservative speech and speech from individuals deemed to be supporters of former President Donald Trump.
Similarly, Florida has also proposed measures that would penalize social media companies that de-platform candidates during an election. The legislation would fine companies $100,000 a day until the candidate’s access to the platform is restored.
The Sunshine State would also require companies who promote a candidate to record such endorsements as a political campaign contribution at the state’s election commission.
