AG Derek Schmidt: Kansas part of multistate investigation into Google business practices

Office of the Kansas Attorney General

TOPEKA – (September 9, 2019) – Kansas is part of a multistate investigation of tech giant Google’s business practices in accordance with state and federal antitrust laws, Attorney General Derek Schmidt announced today.

Schmidt said his office is one of 50 state and territory attorneys general participating in the joint investigation into whether Google’s overarching control of online advertising markets and search traffic may have led to anticompetitive behavior that harms consumers. The bipartisan investigation was formally announced today.

“Today I am taking the unusual step of announcing an ongoing investigation,” said Schmidt, who noted that the ordinary practice of his office is to neither confirm nor deny whether an investigation exists. “In light of the heightened public scrutiny and policy discussions surrounding the business practices at Google and other major tech companies, as well as the decision by several other state attorneys general to publicly announce the investigation today, I have concluded it is in the public interest to confirm that Kansas has been and remains part of this effort.”

Past investigations of Google uncovered violations ranging from advertising illegal drugs in the United States to antitrust actions brought by the European Commission. None of these previous investigations, however, fully addresses the source of Google’s sustained market power and its ability to protect and maintain that power.