US takes aim at Google with antitrust lawsuit as the screws tighten on big tech

The EU has made all the running when it comes to tackling Silicon Valley’s allegedly monopolistic practices but the US has now entered the fray. More lawsuits are expected to follow, writes James Moore

An illegal monopoly? The US Department of Justice has filed a suit against Google (Brett Jordan)

It’s Europe that’s led the charge against big tech when it comes to the persistent allegations of anti-competitive behaviour levelled at its monopolistic titans.

This has inevitably created a certain amount of tension with the US, the home of Silicon Valley, where the authorities have largely sat on the sidelines as the EU’s competition commissioner, Margrethe Vestager, and her team have made the running, handing down multibillion euro fines that are now being appealed.

With the Trump administration’s Department of Justice (DoJ) filing suit against Google, however, there’s the sense of a crack in the damn.