By
Bhushan Akolkar
April 25th, 2024
Following the unrelenting push by the authorities to break up Google, an offshoot of Alphabet with antitrust lawsuits, the company has reportedly made the provisions to team up with Facebook in its attempt to fight whatever investigation that may arise.
This claim is according to the Wall Street Journal who reviewed an unredacted version of a lawsuit filed by 10 states against Google last week, both companies had reportedly agreed to “cooperate and assist one another” if they ever faced an investigation into their pact to work together in online advertising.
The unredacted version reviewed was that of the lawsuit filed against Google by 10 states in the previous week, and the lawsuit referred to a number of documents from both companies. According to the WSJ report, the lawsuit from the 10 states led by the Attorney General from Texas, alleges that both Google LLC and Facebook Inc (NASDAQ: FB) entered into a contract back in September 2018, in which Facebook Inc agreed not to compete with any of Google’s advertising tool in exchange for a significant benefit anytime it used the same tools.
The lawsuit alleges that both parties knew that the arrangement at the time could attract antitrust probing and had discussed strategies to deal with any, whenever it surfaces. Most of these significant claims had been redacted according to the WSJ report. Notwithstanding, a Google spokesperson, similar antitrust agreements are not uncommon, suggesting no wrongdoing on the part of both companies.
The states’ “claims are inaccurate. We don’t manipulate the auction,” the spokesperson said, adding that the deal wasn’t secret and that Facebook participates in other ad auctions. “There’s nothing exclusive about [Facebook’s] involvement and they don’t receive data that is not similarly made available to other buyers.”
Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOGL) stock is done 0.034% in the pre-market while Facebook is currently trading at a 0.10% dip in today’s pre-market.
Google and Facebook Maintains Accusations Are Baseless
The duo of Google and Facebook continues to maintain the position that the incessant antitrust lawsuits from the authorities are baseless and that they may harm American businesses and online consumers alike.
According to the WSJ report, a Facebook spokesperson has also faulted the claims that Mark Zuckerberg-led company committed any crime through its business partnership with Google. The spokesperson noted that its agreements for bidding on advertising are targeted at promoting choice and to create clear benefits for advertisers, publishers, and small businesses alike adding that, “Any allegation that this harms competition or any suggestion of misconduct on the part of Facebook is baseless.”
While the duo anticipates an investigation into the 2018 partnership whose monetary costs remain unclear, they seem ready to defend their positions in what may likely be a purportedly long legal battle.