U.S. state attorneys general likely to bring antitrust lawsuits against Google

A group of state attorneys general led by Texas are likely to -file an antitrust lawsuit against Alphabet Inc’s Google and are working on potential litigation for later this year, a person familiar with the situation said on Friday.

The Justice Department is also moving toward bringing a case as soon as this summer, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.

Shares of Alphabet fell about 1.5% in after-hours trading.

Google did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Google – along with Facebook Inc, Amazon.com Inc and Apple Inc – are under a series of probes into allegations that the tech behemoths use their clout to defend their market share or expand into adjacent markets.

The federal probe of Google focuses on search bias, advertising and management of its Android operating system.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is leading the multi-state investigation into Google, said in February he has not taken any possible punishment off the table, including breaking up the search and advertising giant.

—Financial Post