Google On Defense

Even though a Missouri investigation is a long shot, the company should be nervous

- Joshua Brustein

The command centre for the war against the world’s second-most valuable company is a modest office in Jefferson City, Mo., population 43,000. Josh Hawley, the state’s attorney general, has decorated the room with reminders of his family and some more political keepsakes, including a portrait of Ronald Reagan and a copy of Barry Goldwater’s Conscience of a Conservative. On the far side of the office, along an otherwise empty wall, is a crate labeled “STUFF,” full of toys intended to occupy Hawley’s two preschool-age sons during their frequent visits. “They’re kind of loud,” he says. “I’m not sure that their presence is entirely welcomed by everyone in the building.”

Hawley, a 38-year-old Yale Law School graduate with Ken doll looks and Federalist Society bona fides, has spent his 14 months in office pursuing cases that seem designed to attract attention beyond Missouri’s borders. Alphabet Inc., Google’s parent, is his biggest target yet. The company owes its market value of more than $750 billion to its overwhelming share of global internet searches—more than 90 percent, according to analyst Statcounter. In November, Hawley subpoenaed Alphabet as part of an investigation into its possible violations of Missouri antitrust and consumer protection law.

As a legal matter, bringing a case against Google will be difficult, but the company is more vulnerable than it’s been since 2011, when the U.S. Federal Trade Commission started looking for evidence of its anticompetitive business practices. Although Google managed to avoid charges then, the European Union fined it a record $2.7 billion last June for violating EU antitrust laws. Google has appealed the judgment.