The U.S. Department of Justice sued Google for breaching the antitrust law on Tuesday, claiming that the tech giant misused its web search and advertising dominance to eliminate competition and thus damaged consumers.

The lawsuit is the most significant action of the government in the antitrust area since the lawsuit against Microsoft more than 20 years ago.

It could also clear the way for other major moves of the government in the field, bearing in mind the investigations launched by the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) against big tech companies, including Apple, Amazon and Facebook.

– Google is the gateway to the internet and a search advertising behemoth. However, as explained in the lawsuit filed today, it has maintained its monopoly power through exclusionary practices that are harmful to competition – U.S. Deputy Attorney General Jeff Rosen told reporters.

Google replied to this on Twitter: “Today’s lawsuit by the Department of Justice is deeply flawed. People use Google because they choose to – not because they’re forced to or because they can’t find alternatives.”

The lawsuit filed to the federal court in Washington D.C. states that Google pays billions of dollars earned from advertising to phone producers in order to ensure that Google is the main browser. Eleven federal states joined the government in the lawsuit.

Source: Tanjug