Griffin: ‘This ruling is a win for Arkansans and should send a message to all businesses that unlawful and unfair practices will not be tolerated’

LITTLE ROCK – Attorney General Tim Griffin today issued the following statement after a federal judge ruled yesterday that Google had broken the law when it tried to ensure its market dominance in a lawsuit that Arkansas, the U.S. Department of Justice, and 13 other state attorneys general brought against the tech giant:

“This victory holds Google accountable for its anticompetitive acts that resulted in a stranglehold on online search markets. This ruling is a win for Arkansans and should send a message to all businesses that unlawful and unfair practices will not be tolerated. Now that liability has been determined, I will continue to push forward with this lawsuit to seek injunctive relief that benefits Arkansans and provides space for competition among internet search engines.”

The court found that Google violated federal antitrust laws by entering into exclusionary contracts, making Google the default and exclusive search engine for browsers, mobile devices, and wireless carriers in exchange for a percentage of the revenue Google earned through such placement. This case was consolidated with another enforcement action filed by 38 other attorneys general.

The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia held Google liable in both lawsuits. The court found that Google’s default distribution contracts are anticompetitive, that Google has no procompetitive justification for these contracts, and that Google has monopoly power in multiple online search markets.

To read the court’s ruling, click here.

About Attorney General Tim Griffin

Tim Griffin was sworn in as the 57th Attorney General of Arkansas on January 10, 2023, having previously served as the state’s 20th Lieutenant Governor from 2015-2023. From 2011-2015, Griffin served as the 24th representative of Arkansas’s Second Congressional District, where he served on the House Committee on Ways and Means, House Armed Services Committee, House Committee on Foreign Affairs, House Committee on Ethics and House Committee on the Judiciary while also serving as a Deputy Whip for the Majority.

Griffin has served as an officer in the U.S. Army Reserve Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps for more than 28 years and currently holds the rank of colonel. In 2005, Griffin was mobilized to active duty as an Army prosecutor at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, and served with the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) in Mosul, Iraq.

He is currently serving as the Commander of the 2d Legal Operations Detachment in New Orleans, Louisiana. His previous assignments include serving as the Commander of the 134th Legal Operations Detachment at Fort Liberty (née Bragg), North Carolina, and as a Senior Legislative Advisor to the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness at the Pentagon. Griffin earned a master’s degree in strategic studies as a Distinguished Honor Graduate from the U.S. Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania.

Griffin also served as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, and Special Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of Political Affairs for President George W. Bush; Special Assistant to Assistant Attorney General Michael Chertoff, Criminal Division, U.S. Department of Justice; Special Assistant U.S. Attorney, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Arkansas; Senior Investigative Counsel, Government Reform and Oversight Committee, U.S. House of Representatives; and Associate Independent Counsel, Office of Independent Counsel David M. Barrett, In re: HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros.

Griffin is a graduate of Magnolia High School, Hendrix College in Conway, and Tulane Law School in New Orleans. He attended graduate school at Oxford University. He is admitted to practice law in Arkansas (active) and Louisiana (inactive). Griffin lives in Little Rock with his wife, Elizabeth, a Camden native, and their three children.

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