We now spend so much of our time in the digital world it has become part of our normal lives. We spend copious amounts of time interacting with each other through our screens.
Every day we do our shopping, our business, work, learning, and communications all with the touch of a few buttons using this powerful resource.
It’s because our real lives are so intertwined with a digital world that we must remain cautious because we put a lot of trust into someone we can’t see and we never know who may be pulling the strings.
Google is one of the most powerful tools we have to keep our lives running smoothly and someone in Texas decided that they weren’t ok with that so they’re taking one of the biggest companies in the world to court.
Texas attorney general Ken Paxton along with the attorneys general of eight other states have filed an antitrust case against Google, alleging the company abuses its monopoly power in digital ads to harm consumers and businesses.
Filed in the federal court of Texas, Paxton’s suit has been joined by the states of Arkansas, Indiana, Idaho, Kentucky, Missouri, Mississippi, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Utah.
The lawsuit alleges that Google’s advertising scheme is corrupt and needs to be stopped.
“Google repeatedly used its monopolistic power to control pricing, engage in market collusions to rig auctions, and a tremendous violation of justice,” said attorney general Paxton in a video on Twitter.
“Right now, when you visit the website of a news outlet you know and trust… You’ll see advertisements likely placed there by Google. But Google doesn’t tell you, the public, that they manipulate the advertising auction, and they continually, illegally profit, by taking money away from those web pages and putting it in their own pockets.”
“This goliath of a company is using its power to manipulate the market, destroy competition and harm you the consumer.”
“These actions harm every person in America. It isn’t fair that Google can harm the web pages you visit and read, and it isn’t fair that Google effectively eliminated its competition and crowned itself the head of online advertising.”
The discrepancy in Google’s advertising practices has been brought into the light, particularly with online news outlets and with conservative media outlets routinely being excluded by the online giant.
