Blumenthal Statement Following Google Antitrust Hearing

(Washington, DC) – Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) today released the following statement after participating in the hearing entitled “The Power of Google: Serving Consumers or Threatening Competition?” held by the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights: 

“Today’s hearing was a good first look and inquiry into the questions that have been raised by Google’s market dominance. While the company is a great American success story, their position in the marketplace has led to legitimate questions about whether they have used their market power to disadvantage competitors unfairly and ultimately limit consumer choice. I am encouraged by Google’s willingness to participate in this hearing and I look forward to continuing to ask the tough questions and to monitor closely these issues in order to protect consumers and competition in the marketplace.”

A second panel of expert witnesses, comprised of Jeff Katz, Chief Executive Officer of Nextag, Inc., Jeremy Stoppelman, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Yelp, Inc., Thomas O. Barnett, a Partner at Covington & Burling LLP, and Susan A. Creighton, a Partner at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, PC, also offered testimony on Google’s search engine.

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