Support the fact-based journalism you rely on with a donation to Marketplace today. Give Now!

What's behind the Justice Department's antitrust lawsuit against Google?

At issue are the platform's dominance over other search engines and the contracts that help it maintain that dominance, attorney Charlotte Slaiman says.
“There’s a variety of exclusive agreements for Google to be the default search engine, and that has foreclosed competitors from offering their products instead,” says attorney Charlotte Slaiman.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Publishing antitrust case showcases Biden's stance on antitrust enforcement

Aug 1, 2022
One giant publisher's bid to buy another gives this Justice Department a chance to argue that unchecked industry consolidation results in harm to the wider market, not just consumers.
The U.S. Department of Justice is suing Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster to block the companies from completing a merger valued at $2.175 billion. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Is Congress about to regulate Big Tech?

Jun 24, 2021
Axios reporter Margaret Harding McGill breaks down the antitrust bills moving through the House of Representatives.
Rhode Island Democrat David Cicilline is the chairman of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial and Administrative Law.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Congress weighs getting tough on Big Tech

Jun 22, 2021
The House Judiciary Committee is set to consider a package of antitrust bills this week.
The House Judiciary Committee will vote on about a half-dozen antitrust bills, prohibiting tech giants like Facebook and Google from acquiring competitors or forcing them to sell businesses
Greg Nash/Pool/Getty Images

Apple, Epic Games head to court over App Store

Apple takes a 15% to 30% cut of app sales, in-app purchases and subscriptions. Epic says this is unfair.
To download something to your iPhone (such as the popular video game "Fortnite"), you have to go through its App Store.
Chris Delmas/AFP via Getty Images

Sen. Amy Klobuchar says it's time to take on monopolies in Big Tech, pharma and more

"We have a serious competition problem," Klobuchar said. "It’s hurting our families, our workers, our democracy."
"We have this history in our country of rejuvenating capitalism and using the antitrust laws to do that," Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., says.
Christopher Gregory-Rivera

Small business coalition says Amazon brands are unfair competition

Apr 6, 2021
"It's a basic conflict of interest," says one small-biz advocate.
Is Amazon selling its products alongside small businesses' healthy competition or a conflict of interest?
Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

Sen. Klobuchar proposes sweeping change in antitrust law

Feb 4, 2021
Government has the burden of proving an acquisition harmful. This bill would shift the challenge of disproving that to companies.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar at a 2018 Senate hearing. Her bill would raise the bar for approval of  corporate mergers.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Impeachment won't interfere with Democrats' economic agenda, Rep. Ro Khanna says

Jan 13, 2021
Silicon Valley lawmaker Ro Khanna on impeachment, Twitter and breaking up Big Tech.
Rep. Ro Khanna, a Democrat representing California's Silicon Valley, said he favors regulation and antitrust enforcement over breaking up Big Tech companies.
Patricia De Melo Moreira/AFP/Getty Images

10 states accuse Google of breaking antitrust law

The lawsuit said Google illegally leveraged its power in advertising to squash competitors and overcharge for its services.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images