States, Justice Department to meet regarding possible Google antitrust suit
States and the Justice Department have both separately been probing Google since last year.
State attorneys general and the Justice Department are slated to meet later this week with the hopes of completing an antitrust complaint against tech giant Google.
According to Politico, the Department of Justice and the states have been separately investigating Google since 2019 over allegations that it unfairly dominates the search market and tech for the sale and purchase of display advertising online.
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However, the two groups have yet to reach an agreement on strategic logistical components, including what allegations to include, what court to file the complaint in, and whether the case should involve one or two suits.
FILE - In this Dec. 4, 2017, file photo, people walk by the the Google office building on Ninth Avenue in New York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)
As the presidential election inches closer and closer, deliberation has become more difficult, with some Democratic attorneys general pushing to continue the investigation past the third of November.
Republican attorneys general from several states will visit President Trump on Wednesday to discuss a 1996 online-liability law that the administration is seeking to pare back as part of a larger initiative against purported anti-conservative bias in California's Silicon Valley.
Attorneys general from Texas, Indiana, Missouri and Louisiana are all backing the president's request for the Federal Communications Commission to decide when online companies qualify for the congressionally provided immunity for user-posted content.
White House spokesperson Judd Deere told Politico that the president wanted to hear from the state attorneys general.
"Online censorship goes far beyond the issue of free speech, it’s also one of protecting consumers and ensuring they are informed of their rights and resources to fight back under the law," he said. "State attorneys general are on the front lines of this issue and President Trump wants to hear their perspectives."
While at least two of those representatives attending the Wednesday meeting plan to attend some of the Justice Department meetings in person, others will attend virtually.
Once the Justice Department finalizes its complaint, state attorneys general will have a deadline to decide whether or not they want to join the effort.
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At the beginning of the summer, Justice Department prosecutors expected to file the case in the coming months after getting the "OK" from Attorney General William Barr.
Fox Business has reached out to both Google and the Department of Justice and is waiting to hear back.