Texas Antitrust Case Against Google would Harm Consumers and Small Businesses

The State of Texas announced today it is filing an antitrust lawsuit against Google, alleging the company’s online advertising platform harms competition and allows Google to fix prices for advertising.

CEI senior fellow Ryan Young said:

“A company has monopoly power if it can raise prices, restrict supply, and still keep its dominance. Despite Google’s growth, digital ad prices have fallen by half over the last decade. At the same time, print ad prices have been increasing. Some newspapers have doubled their rates. Google and Facebook, which hold similar market shares, have made the ad market more competitive. Their innovation and price-cutting has made advertising more affordable than ever for small businesses who are struggling to find customers at a difficult time. Attorney General Paxton’s lawsuit would harm consumers and small businesses—precisely the opposite of what antitrust regulation is intended to do.”

Director of CEI’s Center for Technology and Innovation Jessica Melugin said:

“It’s hard to take seriously Attorney General Paxton’s claim that Google has, ‘harmed every person in America.’ Consumers have benefited from Google’s products, services and innovations, often for free. This suit is costly solution in search of a problem.”

Read more:

• Melugin for the Financial Times: Google Antitrust Case Shows the Flaws in Competition Regulation
• Young forReason Magazine: Sometimes Bigger is Better
• Reason: The Republican Antitrust Suit Against Google Is a Progressive Dream