St. Joe-Benton Harbor News

The business practices of Google have caught the eyes of Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul, who found them exclusionary, resulting in a lawsuit alleging violations of the federal antitrust laws, according to Michigan.gov.

The states allege that Google has created a monopoly through its anticompetitive behavior, falling in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act. Approximately 90% of all internet searches in the nation are conducted on Google, Nessel's office reported. It does not happen accidentally, of course, as the company allegedly pays millions to industry giants such as Apple and Samsung and carriers like AT&T and T-Mobile to make Google the default internet search tool.

Google is the preinstalled search engine on all Apple devices and most Android Operating Systems. In fact, some contracts prohibit the use of other search engines.

Attorney General Dana Nessel | Michigan.gov

The lack of options leaves consumers with no other choice but to accept Google’s privacy practices and data collection policies.

“Google’s alleged aggressive and anticompetitive business practices have allowed it to solidify its grasp on the market and stifled competition to the detriment of consumers,” Nessel said, according to Michigan.gov. “By monopolizing the internet search functions used by so many, and the lucrative advertisements that are tied to it, the company has established significant control over what marketing products are being pushed out to consumers, the search results users are presented and, most importantly, the data those users have -- in some cases, unwittingly -- provided. This is an unlawful practice that must be corrected to provide the market with competitive alternatives to improve search-engine capabilities for the benefit of consumers.”