Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton applauds a New York federal district court’s decision last night to reject Google’s motion to dismiss Texas’s lawsuit alleging that Google monopolized the digital advertising market. The federal court has allowed a coalition of seventeen states led by Texas to proceed on all counts under Section 2 of the Sherman Act, a major body of federal antitrust laws. The court ruled that “the States have plausibly alleged that Google has monopoly power in and willfully engaged in anticompetitive conduct.”
Attorney General Paxton stated: “Google’s monopolization of the display-advertising industry and its misleading business practices stifle innovation, limit consumer choice, and reduce competition. Here, the court is absolutely right to reject Google’s attempt to throw out our case. We look forward to a jury hearing how this Big Tech giant abused its monopoly power by harming consumers to reap billions in monopoly profits. This is a major step in the right direction to make our free market truly free.”
Read the federal district court’s Opinion and Order here.