Dozens of US states file anti-trust lawsuit against Google

A group of 35 US states as well as the District of Columbia and the territories of Guam and Puerto Rico filed an anti-trust lawsuit against Google on Dec 17 alleging that the search giant has an illegal monopoly over the online search market that hurts consumers and advertisers. — AP

DENVER: Dozens of more US states are joining an escalating effort to prove Google has been methodically abusing its power as the Internet's main gateway in a way that hurts consumers habitually feeding personal information into is search engine and advertisers pouring billions of dollars into its vast marketing network.

The lawsuit was filed on Dec 17 in federal court in Washington DC by attorneys general of 35 states as well as the District of Columbia and the territories of Guam and Puerto Rico. It seems likely to be combined with a similar complaint by the the US Department of Justice in late October that is also trying to defuse Google's dominance of online search and digital advertising.