The move comes amid uncertainty over the fate of the original 2010 antitrust lawsuit over Google's dominance in online search, the person said, adding that the US Attorney's Office in New York is pushing for the new case to be filed by the end of the year. The office has yet to determine whether the new complaint will be consolidated with a separate lawsuit, the person said. The 2010 case is currently expected to go to trial early next year.
Justice Department officials "are aware of the pending search cases, and they expect them to be resolved at some point in the not-too-distant future," a DOJ spokesman said.
The new case could add to the complexity of the US's antitrust legal review of Google and other digital platforms, which was already expected to be a more drawn-out and difficult process than its examination of Apple, under former Attorney General Eric Holder.
The search case
Google filed the first complaint against the US government in 2010, arguing that it should be allowed to own and control the Internet search business. The case, which was based on Section 2 of the Sherman Antitrust Act, also argued that some of Google's search business activities, such as its purchase of advertising firm DoubleClick in 2007, were exempt from antitrust scrutiny because they were so deeply intertwined with its core product.
The government has been reluctant to accept that Google's search business should be treated differently from its advertising business, in part because it is based on an open web-wide platform that is similar to Google's other businesses and because of concerns about the consequences of allowing Google to monopolise search.
Google has asked for that first case to be tried by the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, but the US Justice Department has asked that a trial start next January.
Google's complaint prompted numerous lawsuits against the tech company, including an antitrust action launched by the European Union in January, which it wants dismissed on the grounds that it failed to respect the EU's "single-sided" investigation.
The European Commission also filed a lawsuit against Google in 2013. The company has also faced criminal cases in France and Germany over a number of its business practices, and the company has also faced competition probes in Spain, Denmark and Canada.
Although Google has won some of the cases against it, the company lost others and has been fined by the EU for monopolistic practices. Google has repeatedly said it will not appeal against the EU's decision.
# offshore accident attorney # The best motorcycle accident lawyer # Offshore Accident Lawyer # Houston Maritime Attorney | Maritime Injury Lawyers Houston # Premium in Car Insurance # Annual Premium for Health Insurance # Offshore & Maritime Injury Lawyers # Truck Accident Attorney | Big Rig Accident Lawyer in Los Angeles # Personal Injury Lawyer | lawsuit
0 Reviews: