Attorney general of Missouri claimed this week that his office might look into whether Alphabet Inc’s Google breached the antitrust and consumer protection laws of the state. A Republican looking to unseat Democratic U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill in next year’s elections, Josh Hawley, declared at a press meeting that he issued to Google an investigative subpoena. He expressed worry over the correctness of the privacy policy of the company, statements that demoted websites of the competitors in search results, and blames that it misappropriated content from rivals.
Google claimed that it had not yet got the subpoena. “On the other hand, we have sturdy privacy protections in position for our consumers and carry on to work in a highly dynamic and competitive environment,” Andrea Faville, the spokesperson of the company, claimed to the media in a statement. Google has come under expanding inspection all over the world as it has turns out to be a global provider of mobile software, online search, and advertising technology. But official investigations have led to varying outcomes in the past 7 Years.
37 states’ attorney generals in 2013 reached a $7 Million agreement over unlawful collection of Wi-Fi information from Google via its Street View digital-mapping vehicles. An inquiry by Federal Trade Commission also provoked Google in the same year to agree to offer patent licensees and advertisers more flexible conditions. The FTC, although, did not convey the stronger charges for antitrust that Google rivals such as Yelp Inc and Microsoft Corp sought. States comprising Mississippi, Ohio, and Texas witnessed inquiries waver without substantive results.
Missouri’s Hawley claimed that the inaction b y FTC made an opening. “We are going to take action to hold corporate behemoths responsible for the good of the users of Missouri,” Hawley claimed. When asked at the press meeting if his candidacy of senate played a role in starting the inquiry against Google, Hawley claimed that he acted upon his promise of office and wish to reach to the truth.
He highlighted the fining of European Union to Google of $2.7 Billion in June for unjustly favoring links to its personal shopping facilities over those from other e-commerce sites.
