(Hartford, CT) — Attorney General William Tong released the following statement regarding today’s court ruling on the remedies in the Google search antitrust case to restore competition in the market and for the benefit of consumers:
“Today’s decision is an important step towards restoring a fair, free and competitive digital advertising marketplace. Google abused its monopoly to quash innovation and competition, and their illegal conduct harmed us all. We will be watching them like a hawk and will not hesitate to return to the courts to safeguard free and fair competition,” said Attorney General Tong.
For years, the Google browser has been the dominant gateway for users to search the internet. Attorney General Tong joined a bipartisan coalition of 38 attorneys general in December 2020 in filing the states’ lawsuit against Google for illegally maintaining its monopoly over search engines and related search advertising through a series of anticompetitive contracts and conduct. The multistate lawsuit was a companion to an earlier federal antitrust lawsuit the Justice Department filed in October 2020.
In August 2024, a D.C. federal district court judge ruled in a landmark decision that Google has abused its monopoly power and harmed consumers in online search and search text ads. Earlier this year, the 38-state coalition of attorneys general and the Justice Department proposed a comprehensive and legally sound package of remedies to restore competition and spur renewed innovation in the search marketplace and to benefit consumers.