Google CEO Sundar Pichai Signs Agreement at Antitrust Center


Google’s CEO has approved a settlement with Facebook at the heart of an antitrust lawsuit filed by 16 states and Puerto Rico against the search giant, according to part of the complaint released Friday.

The case, led by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, Argues that Google has obtained and abused a monopoly through the technology network used to serve ads online.

When publishers began using an alternative system to sell their ad space, Google tried to undermine it by creating a similar system that it controlled, according to the lawsuit. The states claim that Google has reached an agreement with Facebook to join the social network’s efforts in an attempt to “kill” the publishers’ competition scheme.

In the pending portion of the lawsuit filed in federal court, the states said Sundar Pichai, who has been the company’s CEO since 2015, “personally signed the terms of the deal”.

The newer parts of the lawsuit also include details of programs that states have used to mislead buyers and sellers of ad space about the precise nature of the auctions they participate in, allowing Google to make more money in the process.

A Google spokesperson said the complaint “still is full of inaccuracies and lacks legal rights”.

“We sign hundreds of deals every year that don’t require CEO approval, and this one was no different,” the spokesperson said.

In another recent public episode, states cite a February 2017 “Facebook document” that says Google wants to “kill” the rival system and that Facebook “christening its products will help significantly”.

At one point, Facebook employees working on the deal emailed Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, saying, “We’re almost ready to sign, and we need your approval to move forward.” Mr. Zuckerberg’s name is still being removed from the lawsuit, but not his title.

A spokesperson for Facebook’s parent company Meta said in a statement that its deal with Google “and similar deals we have with other bidding platforms help increase competition for ad placements.”

The antitrust lawsuit is one of several lawsuits filed by government agencies against tech giants in the past two years. The Justice Department and a number of states have filed suit, alleging that Google is abusing its online search monopoly. This week, a judge said the Federal Trade Commission could file a lawsuit against Facebook. Both Apple and Amazon are facing antitrust investigations.

The judge in the case said Google has until January 21 to respond to the latest version of the case. His spokesperson said Google plans to ask the judge to dismiss the case.



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