AG Brown statement regarding court order in Google search engine monopoly case

SEATTLE - A federal judge who previously ruled Google held an illegal monopoly over internet search traffic has curtailed the company's ability to enter into exclusive search contracts and will require it to share certain data with competitors under an order issued Tuesday.

"Google's monopoly over search engine traffic has illegally held competition back for years," Brown said. "The court's order will finally begin to open more competition for the benefit of consumers and the businesses that advertise via search engines."

For years, the Google browser has been the dominant gateway for users to search the internet. Washington state joined a bipartisan coalition of 38 attorneys general in December 2020 in filing the states' lawsuit against Google for illegally maintaining its monopoly over search engines and related search advertising through a series of anticompetitive contracts and conduct. The multistate lawsuit was litigated and tried alongside a parallel federal antitrust lawsuit the Justice Department filed in October 2020.

In August 2024, a D.C. federal district court judge ruled in a landmark decision that Google has abused its monopoly power and harmed consumers in online search and search text ads. Earlier this year, the 38-state coalition of attorneys general and the Justice Department proposed a comprehensive and legally sound package of remedies to restore competition and spur renewed innovation in the search marketplace and to benefit consumers.

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