The US government plans to file antitrust

Attorney General William Barr is set to file suit against Google today for illegal monopolization of the search and ad markets, kicking off one of the largest antitrust cases in US history. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the case will focus on search and search-focused advertising, rather than the company’s broader targeted ad business.

According to the Journal’s sources, the Justice Department will allege that Google “is maintaining its status as gatekeeper to the internet through an unlawful web of exclusionary and interlocking business agreements that shut out competitors.”

Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey A. Rosen has announced a briefing later this morning, which is likely to provide more details on the case.

The case is one of the most ambitious antitrust actions ever undertaken against a tech company, drawing together parallel investigations from the Department of Justice and a range of state attorneys general. The Department of Justice briefed state AGs on the case at the end of September, according to a report from The Washington Post. More than 10 state attorneys general are expected to sign onto the case, per the Journal, but others are likely to file separate antitrust charges.