On December 17, 2020, Google's parent company Alphabet Inc was hit by its third lawsuit in two months. The cases attempt to prove that Google uses its influence to stop others from sharing their products and ideas with you.

It would be relatively easy to win a ballgame if you owned the facility where the game was held, paid off the referees and made agreements with the opposing team to control ball time. Yet, that is exactly what the three lawsuits brought against the company contends is happening. There is little doubt that the cases may end up in the Supreme Court as the largest antitrust case in the nation's history before the final gavel is tapped on a judge's bench.
 

38 States and Territories Sue Google for Abusing Powers

The lawsuit filed on December 17 contends the company must stop downplaying websites, like Expedia and TripAdvisor, in search results. The lawsuit also accused Google's parent company of creating exclusive deals with phone makers, making it difficult for users to access other search engines, like DuckDuckGo and Bing.

The lawsuit hopes to stop Google from creating dominance in other devices, such as home assistant devices, like Amazon's Alexa and Echo. Thirty-one attorney generals jointly filed the case. Additionally, they hope to stop car manufacturers from installing Google-propriety software that would force buyers to use only Google when connecting to the internet through their car's hotspots.
 

Ten States Sue Google Over Pay-per-click Advertising

If you believe that you see the same ads across every website and social media site that you use, you may be right according to a lawsuit brought against the company. On December 16, 2020, attorney generals from 10 states joined together to file a lawsuit against the company in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. The lawsuit contends that Google used a mix of improper tactics to force publishers to deal with their company when buying digital marketing.

The lawsuit contends that Google created the "largest electronic trading market in existence." In the case, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton compares the lawsuit to Wall Street, but there are no strict rules that the company must follow when operating their platform. Paxton claims that the way Google has things currently structured, they own the trading floor and serve as the financial broker.

Paxton further contends that while Google made $42 billion annually off their efforts, they squeezed other companies, like Microsoft, out of the market.

The lawsuit also contends that Google gives Facebook an unfair advantage in other ad auctions to keep Mark Zuckerberg's giant from competing for those advertising dollars. Google currently receives 54% of all internet advertising revenue. The agreement allows Facebook to sell advertising on its site, which accounts for 23% of all internet advertising revenue.
 

11 States and U.S. Justice Department Sues Google for Creating an Illegal Monopoly

On October 20, 2020, the Justice Department and 11 states sued Google for creating an illegal monopoly. In this case, the justice department and states sued Google for locking up deals with other huge companies, like Apple. The lawsuit also contends that the internet giant also throttled its competition by signing exclusive business contracts and agreements.

The suit filed in the U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia contends that the money paid by corporations to the company is a monopoly tax.
 

Does Google Harm Me?

This lawsuit contends that Google's current business model injures you in many ways, including the stifling of new companies without deep pockets to get started. The suit alleges that the quality and quantity of goods and services in the marketplace diminish. Finally, Google may be harming you by limiting the number of choices you see when searching on the internet.

It may, however, be a while before anything changes. U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta, who is hearing the U.S. Justice Department case, suggested the date of September 12, 2023, and no one objected. The judge expects discovery to be over in March 2021. She says that the volume of prehearing motions would not occur until -early 2023. The three cases may become one case before she hears it in court.