Dubai, United Arab Emirates (CNN) – Texas and 9 other states filed a lawsuit against Google on Wednesday, alleging that the company had stifled competition and had “monopoly power”.
The complaint is the latest attack on the search giant and its dominance in online advertising, as it alleges that Google is misusing its ownership of the digital advertising markets to unfairly enrich itself at the expense of fair competition.
The lawsuit also alleges that Google’s behavior stifled innovation and hurt publishers, advertisers and consumers.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced the lawsuit in a tweet. “This giant of a company uses its power to manipulate the market, destroy competition and harm you, the consumer,” Paxton said in a video clip that he attached to the tweet.
The other 9 states participating in the lawsuit include: Kentucky, South Dakota, Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota and Utah.
The lawsuit is the second antitrust lawsuit by government officials against “Google” in the United States this year. The Justice Department referred the search giant to court over similar allegations in October, when 11 countries joined the suit at the time.
It also comes after a lawsuit brought by more than 40 prosecutors against Facebook alleging that it abused the monopoly of social media. Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The company described the lawsuit previously filed by the Ministry of Justice as “deeply flawed” and said that it “relies on questionable arguments against monopoly.”
