Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit against Google, accusing the company of unfair practice and monopoly in the digital advertising business.
And not only that. THE case also claims that the search company conspired with Facebook to adjust ad auctions and set prices. The lawsuit was co-sponsored by nine other states, led by Republicans.
Paxton made this announcement through a bizarre video on official Twitter account of Texas AG. He said the lawsuit was against Google's "anti-competitive behavior, foreclosure and misleading practices" to create an advertising monopoly.
The complaint also accuses the company of colluding with Facebook to give toy the ultimate advantage in mobile advertising auctions. He says in detail that both companies had agreed on how many times Facebook would be at the top of the bidding auctions. You can read the full text of the lawsuit here .
In a statement, Google said the lawsuit was unfounded and that the company was offering competitive advertising fees:
“Attorney General Paxton's claims about ad technology are without merit, yet he has gone beyond the obvious. Digital ad prices have come down over the past decade. Google's ad fees are lower than the global industry average. These are the characteristics a very competitive industry.”
The dance of lawsuits seems to hold up well.
In addition to this new lawsuit, Google has faced a number of antitrust complaints this year. In October, the The US Department of Justice has sued Google to create an illegal monopoly in search and advertisements search.
In November, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) filed a complaint against the tech giant for application Google Pay payments. The country's regulator has also opened an investigation into the company's dominance of the Android mobile operating system market.
And not even a day has passed since its announcement Australias that sues Facebook for espionage.