Taxpayer Watchdog Slams Justice Department’s Antitrust Overreach in Google Case

For Immediate Release

Contact: Kara Zupkus (224) 456-0257

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Wednesday, the Department of Justice (DOJ) proposed remedies in its case against Google Search. Among other remedies, the DOJ asked the court to bar Google from entering contracts for default status or other types of preferential treat, tying its products to uses of Google Search, preferencing its own products on Google Search, and investing in other search and artificial intelligence (AI) ventures. The DOJ also seeks to force Google to severe Chrome and (under certain conditions) Android. Antitrust experts have criticized the district court’s ruling in this case, and it will likely be appealed.

In response, David Williams, president of the Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA), offered the following comment:

“The radical antitrusters at Joe Biden’s DOJ are swinging for the fences one last time before the new administration enters office. The fact that the agency seeks remedies that go far beyond the allegations made at the trial stage suggests that this case isn’t about rooting out anticompetitive behavior. Rather, it’s about government bureaucrats trying to break up one of America’s most productive and innovative companies for no other reason than it being successful.

“The DOJ’s remedies filing is little more than a Christmas list of antitrust radicals’ heartfelt desires. It would create a world in which Google hamstrings its own operations, is disallowed to engage in common business practices, and even forced to lend active aid and assistance to its competition. This is the antithesis of the ideals of the free market.

“One has to wonder what consumer interests the DOJ is advancing with these remedies Leave aside for the moment the proposed ban on self-preferencing – which, while destructive, is a run-of-the-mill item of faith for radical antitrusters. The attempt to prevent Google from investing in new AI is an all-out assault on American innovation and the consumers who will benefit. Whether or not Washington, D.C. bureaucrats like it, large companies like Google are major drivers of technological progress and a conduit for small businesses to be successful. If the DOJ wants to crack down on anticompetitive behavior, it should begin with its own attempt to remove a major source of competition from a dynamic new industry.

“As TPA has said from the beginning, Google is dominant because it is the best. It has outcompeted its rivals, and it has been rewarded with frivolous antitrust litigation. The DOJ’s effort is a worse than just a waste of taxpayer funds – it is an ideologically driven crusade against a great American company, and it will degrade a world-class product used by millions of Americans.”

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Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to educating the public through the research, analysis and dissemination of information on the government’s effects on the economy.