Texas wins round against Google as antitrust lawsuit returned to Lone Star state
Reuters
Published Jun 05, 2023 01:39PM ET
Updated Jun 05, 2023 04:16PM ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Texas won the latest round in its antitrust lawsuit against Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL)'s Google on Monday as a U.S. judicial panel ordered the case returned to federal court in Texas.
At Google's request the lawsuit had been moved in August 2021 to a federal court in New York, where other advertising technology cases were being heard.
Texas had asked for the lawsuit to be moved back after the U.S. Congress passed the Venue Act in 2022 that grants state attorneys general the right to choose where an antitrust lawsuit will be litigated.
The Texas lawsuit accuses Google of violating the law by dominating the process that advertisers use to put ads online. Website publishers complain that has resulted in lower revenues.
Google said it disagreed with the decision. "We're confident that any court will agree that the Texas Attorney General's case is wrong on both the facts and the law," a spokesperson added.
The Texas attorney general's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In its order, signed by chair Karen Caldwell, the panel of judges wrote: "On its face, the Venue Act plainly is intended to allow state antitrust actions to proceed in the action’s original forum."
The decision was made by the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation.
The case will return to the eastern district of Texas, which has a reputation for being a rocket docket, with quicker hearings and decisions made on cases.
The search and advertising giant , which also makes a smartphone operating system and owns YouTube, faces antitrust lawsuits around the world with most based on abuse of dominance of one sort or another. Google has denied any wrongdoing in how it runs its many businesses.
In addition to the Texas fight, Google is battling the U.S. federal government in two antitrust lawsuits, one based on abuse of dominance of search and the other abuse of dominance of advertising technology. And states led by Utah filed a lawsuit in 2021 saying the company broke antitrust law in handling its play store.
Get The News You Want
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.