US asks Google for detailed search data in antitrust case

The US government alleges Google’s exclusive deals to distribute its search engine on browsers and phones, including Apple’s iPhones, violates the Sherman Act’s prohibition on monopolisation. — Dreamstime/TNS

The US government asked Google to fork over granular information on how its search engine works and makes money, seeking to prove that the Internet giant is a monopoly.

The US Department of Justice and several state attorneys general are seeking comparable data on US search results and related ads from Feb 2, 2015 to Feb 8, 2015 and from Feb 3, 2020 to Feb 9, 2020, according to a legal filing Monday.