Hawai‘i Attorney General Joins Bipartisan Coalition Investigating Google

Hawaiʻi Attorney General Clare E. Connors today joined 49 attorneys general in a multistate, bipartisan investigation of tech giant Google’s business practices in accordance with state and federal antitrust laws.

The bipartisan coalition announced plans to investigate what they call “Google’s overarching control of online advertising markets” and search traffic, which they allege “may have led to anticompetitive behavior that harms consumers.”

According to the AG’s office, legal experts from each state will work in cooperation with Federal authorities to assess competitive conditions for online services and ensure that Americans have access to free digital markets.

“Access to information is power and Google is one of the biggest companies in the information business,” said Attorney General Connors. “There are serious concerns that Google’s current position is the result of anticompetitive business practices rather than the excellence of their product offerings.”

According to the AG’s office, “Past investigations of Google uncovered violations ranging from advertising illegal drugs in the United States to now three antitrust actions brought by the European Commission. None of these previous investigations, however, fully address the source of Google’s sustained market power and the ability to engage in serial and repeated business practices with the intention to protect and maintain that power.”