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The Justice Department formally charged Alphabet Inc.s Google with antitrust violations Tuesday, the first major action against Big Tech for its staggering market power and valuations.

Google is a monopolist in the general search services, search advertising, and general search text advertising markets, according to the Justice Departments complaint, filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday morning. Google aggressively uses its monopoly positions, and the money that flows from them, to continuously foreclose rivals and protect its monopolies.

Deputy Attorney General Jeff Rosen said Tuesday morning that Google GOOG GOOGL was charged with violating the Sherman Act with its search and search-advertising businesses after a 16-month investigation. The specific issues referenced included Googles deals to be the default search engine on popular online services and browsers, Google tying its search engine into phones running Alphabets Android operating system, and anti-forking agreements that manufacturers who use Android sign.

Google has maintained its monopoly power though exclusionary practices that have harmed competition, Rosen said in a teleconference with the news media early Tuesday.

Todays lawsuit by the Department of Justice is deeply flawed, Google Chief Legal Officer Kent Walker said in a blog post. People use Google because they choose to, not because theyre forced to, or because they cant find alternatives.This lawsuit would do nothing to help consumers. To the contrary, it would artificially prop up lower-quality search alternatives, raise phone prices, and make it harder for people to get the search services they want to use.

Proceedings were filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., for United States of America et al vs. Google LLC; states joining the U.S. in that suit were listed on the docket as Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, South Carolina, and Texas.

Google is now the unchallenged gateway to the internet for billions of users world-wide. As a consequence, countless advertisers must pay a toll to Googles search advertising and general search text advertising monopolies; American consumers are forced to accept Googles policies, privacy practices, and use of personal data; and new companies with innovative business models cannot emerge from Googles long shadow, the initial complaint in the case states.

For the sake of American consumers, advertisers, and all companies now reliant on the internet economy, the time has come to stop Googles anticompetitive conduct and restore competition.

See also: Google could face antitrust charges from Justice Department this month

Seven other states that were investigating Google Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Utah will continue investigating, and any eventual complaint would seek to consolidate with the feds charges and litigate cooperatively, as in the Microsoft Corp. MSFT, +0.62% antitrust case during the dot-com boom, New York Attorney General Letitia James said Tuesday morning.

For more: Big Tech was built by the same type of antitrust actions that could now tear it down

Charges center on Googles search business, which dominates the key arena of finding information on the internet world-wide, with Justice Department officials noting Tuesday that Google receives 80% of search queries in the United States. Google has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, and insists consumers have access to other sources for information than its dominant search engine, such as Twitter Inc. TWTR, +0.31% for news and Amazon.com Inc. AMZN, +0.88% for products. The company says it competes for advertising with Facebook Inc. FB, +2.39%, Amazon, Oracle Corp. ORCL, +0.35%, Verizon Communications Inc. VZ, +1.09%, and others.

Competitors such as Yelp Inc. YELP, -0.47% have been vocal in seeking relief from regulatory agencies, as they say that Google competes with them unfairly and reaps advertising dollars in exchange.

By systematically reducing the quality of its search results in order to entrench and extend its search and search advertising monopolies, Google is directly harming consumers, Yelps senior vice president for public policy, Luther Lowe, wrote in a blog post Tuesday. Yelp applauds the work of the DOJ and encourages swift action by state attorneys general who are conducting parallel investigations into other aspects of Googles business.

The complaint does not specify what specific changes are sought to rectify Googles market power, instead requesting structural relief as needed to cure any anticompetitive harm and restore competitive conditions in the markets affected by Googles unlawful conduct.

One potential risk, as outlined in an AB Bernstein note Tuesday, is a search choice screen on new devices including the removal of exclusivity deals, and unbundling of Android and G-Suite. The filing called out Googles monopoly in search advertising and general search text advertising,' Bernstein analyst Mark Shmulik wrote. The careful wording aims to exclude Facebook (non-search digital advertising) and Amazon (product-specific search) as competitors.

The DOJ-Google suit is expected to be followed by legal actions by the Federal Trade Commission against Facebook later this year. Amazon and Apple Inc. AAPL, -0.61% are also being investigated for their business practices. In Tuesdays event, Justice Department officials noted Tuesday that investigations into other tech issues were continuing.

That has little sway on Congress, the Trump administration, and the Biden-Harris campaign, all of whom agree that techs biggest names have too much power. Everyone from liberal Democrats to conservative Republicans have painted tech as the modern-day corporate and cultural boogeyman, and state attorneys general were pushing their own suits before several Republican-controlled states apparently signed on with the feds for their suit Tuesday morning. The Senate Commerce Committee has scheduled a hearing with chief executives of Google, Facebook, and Twitter on Oct. 28.

Read more: Congress should consider breaking up Big Tech and limiting acquisitions, House report says

The Google suit, as well as anticipated Facebook action, will spill into 2021 and beyond, and would most likely continue under a Democratic-controlled House and Senate. While a House subcommittee on antitrust has urged solutions from breaking up large tech companies to restricting their ability to gobble up some acquisitions, a handful of Senators led by Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., have advocated similar measures and the notion of revisiting antitrust law.

Read more: If the Democrats win the Senate, Big Tech better be ready for a bigger fight

Antitrust enforcement against Google is long overdue, Rep. David Cicilline, D-R.I., said in a statement Tuesday morning; he leads the subcommittee that released the antitrust report.

It is critical that the Justice Departments lawsuit focuses on Googles monopolization of search and search advertising, while also targeting the anticompetitive business practices Google is using to leverage this monopoly into other areas, such as maps, browsers, video, and voice assistants.

The Justice complaint does not portend an onslaught of legislation against tech companies but could signal consumer-protection laws down the line, Shubha Ghosh, a law professor specializing in tech issues at Syracuse University, told MarketWatch.

The Department of Justices case against Google is the first salvo in a coming war against big tech companies, added Will Rinehart, senior fellow at the Center for Growth and Opportunity.

Read more: The road map to antitrust changes contains many potential routes following charges against Google

Nonetheless, the history of antitrust actions against tech no matter how bold and time consuming often comes to naught, cautions Bhaskar Chakravorti, dean of global business at Tufts University. He points to the 1956 case against the Bell System monopoly that was left intact after a seven years; a 13-year antitrust action against International Business Machines Corp. IBM, +0.20% in which it remained unbroken; and the 1998 action against Microsoft Corp. MSFT, +0.62% that ended three years later with a settlement and the company intact.

So far, there has been a scattershot, muddled attempt to rein in Big Tech this year from multiple government agencies against several companies in distinctly different markets, Chakravorti told MarketWatch. There is one good thing about the Google action: It is the focus of a single agency with specific complaints.

Greg Sterling, vice president of insights at internet marketing service Uberall, told MarketWatch it is unlikely Google will emerge totally unscathed [from the lawsuit] but far from certain that the requested structural remedies will take place.

Consumer advocates called the antitrust lawsuit long overdue but narrow in scope. Google has nine products with more than a billion users, and it has market power in maps, online display advertising, and video, as well as general search, browsers, and niche but significant areas like access to airline ticketing information, Sarah Miller, executive director of the American Economic Liberties Project, said in a statement. Fortunately, efforts to address Googles control over online commerce are growing.

A major technology organization, meanwhile, claimed the DoJ suit will harm consumers and blunt innovation.

Government action to weaken American innovators like Google will not help the U.S. maintain its status as a global tech leader, Gary Shapiro, CEO of Consumer Technology Association, said in a statement. Instead, such steps will cede market share to Chinese competitors, handing China a massive gift in its efforts to catch and surpass U.S. tech companies.

Googles class C shares were trading about 2% higher Tuesday afternoon.

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Google officially charged with antitrust by Justice Department - MarketWatch

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The Best Car Insurance Discounts and How to Get Them - Press Release - Digital Journal

"Its a small but striking change that can completely reshape the way new consumers consider a brand in the grand scheme of the companys industry and beyond. --Zach Hoffman, CEO of Exults

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (PRWEB) October 19, 2020

With the needs and desires of consumers constantly shifting in an age when a great deal of business occurs online, companies must put themselves in a position to react and adapt accordingly. One important but often overlooked element of implementing such a strategy is branding, or more specifically, the message a companys logo communicates when consumers, both existing or new, engage or interact with a business.

Recently, many companies have found that adapting and updating their logo can better position their brand for present and future endeavors, such as expanding into new categories. The challenge digital branding for logo imprint imposes is that icons need to be able to stand alone to concisely represent a brand, whereas in the past logos had a luxury of space.

This remains especially true for social media platforms given the high degree of layout variance across different desktop and mobile sites. For instance, Instagram cuts off content that exceeds a certain size threshold. This means having a logo that is reasonably sized and easily replicable is crucial for consistent digital branding.

One major business that serves as the latest great example of brand identity redesign would be The J.M. Smucker Company.

The food and preservatives provider recently replaced their trademark double strawberry logo with a new digital identity that better represents the companys current goals and ongoing aspirations. By keeping a familiar design that utilizes simpler shapes and sharper colors, J.M. Smucker Co. hopes to communicate an acknowledgement of its heritage while also illustrating its commitment to innovation, a welcoming culture, and continued growth.

The recent redesign by J.M. Smucker Co. really shows how effective a digital rebranding effort can be for any business, said Zach Hoffman, CEO of Exults Digital Marketing. They gained 3.7 million households worth of consumers during the first half of 2020, and with that windfall of new business came a need to better communicate their full suite of products.

One of the main goals of the rebrand was to pivot J.M. Smucker Co. away from the audience perception that it exclusively offers jams and other jelly-based preservatives. The company has in fact started offering peanut butter, coffee, and various pet food brands within its product portfolio over the last few years. Going forward, CEO Mark Smucker indicated that the company will be ready to make even more acquisitions when the opportunities present themselves.

Now, when consumers engage with the updated branding, their thoughts dont immediately head towards strawberry jelly, Hoffman continued. The familiarity of the Smucker legacy remains, but the new shapes and colors communicate variety and creativity. Its a small but striking change that can completely reshape the way new consumers consider a brand in the grand scheme of the companys industry and beyond.

J.M. Smucker Co. seeks to become a leader in whatever new categories they acquire, and with a dynamic branding strategy already in place, they have already taken a step in the right direction.

More About Exults Internet Marketing Agency

Exults Marketing is a full-service internet marketing company that is results driven. Offering a complete range of internet marketing services to reach its clients goals, Exults premier services include:

If you are interested in rebranding your company for the digital business world to spark meaningful engagement and online sales, contact Exults Marketing Agency.

For more information, please visit the Exults website (https://www.exults.com/) or call 866-999-4736.

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Expert Opinion on Logo and Brand Identity Redesign for a Digital Landscape - PR Web

Three of the biggest search platforms - Google, Firefox, and Safari - have announced plans to eliminate their use of third party cookies, a move that could hinder brands' ability to understand what consumers need and want in the digital space. Consumers have become more vocal in their fears of how their data is collected, stored, and used. The problem is that without data brands and publishers don't know what people visiting their sites are in need of, which leads to less relevant and personalized experiences.

With platforms working to phase out cookies because of consumer concerns, many marketers are unsure how to proceed. According to LiveIntent data 39% of executives say their business 'has no plan' to bridge the gap left when cookies are no longer used for marketing purposes. Researchers further found that of those of who have a plan (61%), almost half 'are not confident' (48%) in that plan.

"Brands and Publishers have a unique opportunity to control their destiny in an era of third-party cookie deprecation," said Brian Silver, President at LiveIntent. "The truth is, by leveraging a combination of first-party data and the power of email with a forward-looking Identity framework, brands and publishers will be able to enjoy all the features, functionalities and profit of the walled gardens on their own properties. But in order to do this, it requires urgency. When determining which identity solution to work with, both publishers and brands should ask themselves several key questions. They include if customers come first for you, where the provider's data sourced is sourced from, what the provider's linkages recency and frequency are, what the provider is modeling, and if, overall, the graph being offered will help you achieve your goals."Other interesting findings from the LiveIntent report include:

82% of execs say there have been 'fewer than 5' meetings on how to proceed in a cookie-less world87% believe they will have a plan in place before cookies are gone64% say they are 'somewhat concerned' about the general future of digital advertising without cookies

More data from LiveIntent's report can be accessed here.

Tags: advertising, advertising cookies, cookie-less advertising, digital advertising, ecommerce, LiveIntent, third party data trends

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Study: Brands unprepared for end of third party cookies - Internet - BizReport

National issues get most of the attention during a presidential election. But there are state issues to consider, too.

Alabama's ballot includes six state constitutional amendments, covering voting; the operation of the state judiciary; racist language in the states 1901 Constitution, and the use of guns in churches in two counties in north Alabama.

In Montgomery, the ballot includes a referendum on raising property taxes to increase public school funding. Elmore County voters will decide whether to renew an existing property tax that funds local schools.

Below, a guide to the Alabama statewide amendments.

People arrive to vote at Goodwyn Community Center on Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2011, in Montgomery, Ala.(Photo: Advertiser file)

Amendment 1 would limit voting in Alabama to citizens of the United States. The measure, sponsored by Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh, R-Anniston, would change existing language saying "every citizen of the United States" can vote in Alabama to "only a citizen of the United States." It passed the Legislature in 2019.

Federal law already prohibits most non-citizens from voting. No state has allowed general voting by non-citizens in 100 years. A handful of cities, like San Francisco and Chicago, allow all city residents to vote in school board elections, regardless of citizenship status. In New York City, a bill was proposed earlier this year to allow non-citizens who are legal permanent residents or have work authorization to vote in elections there.

Alabamas 1901 Constitution limited voting to every male citizen of this state who is a citizen of the United States and foreigners who had declared their intentions to become U.S. citizens prior to the ratification of the state constitution.

Marsh did not respond to requests for comment. Voting rights experts said the effect of the change may be minimal. Michael Li, a senior counsel with the Brennan Center in New York, said he wasnt aware of any major push to allow noncitizens to vote.

I think its trying to solve a problem that doesnt exist, he said. Out of all the things Alabama has to worry about, the Alabama Legislature giving noncitizens the right to vote is not high on the list.

Embattled Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore testifies during his ethics trial at the Alabama Court of the Judiciary at the Alabama Judicial Building in Montgomery, Ala., on Wednesday September 28, 2016.(Photo: Mickey Welsh / Advertiser)

Amendment 2 represents the first major revision of the state constitutions judicial article since 1973. Among the changes:

The appointment of the director of the Administrative Office of the Courts who oversees the day-to-day operations of the state court system would go from the chief justice and given to the entire state Supreme Court. In addition, the court would have to follow procedures the nomination of the director spelled out by the Alabama Legislature.

Judges would no longer be automatically suspended once the Judicial Inquiry Commission, which investigates ethical complaints against judges, files a complaint against them. The suspension could only take place if the chief judge of the Court of the Judiciary, which considers cases against judges, approves a complaint saying the judge was physically or mentally unable to perform their duties or posed a substantial threat of serious harm to the public or the administration of justice. Two-thirds of the Judicial Inquiry Commission would have to approve the measure for it to take effect. In addition, the suspended judge could request a review of the action.

The Judicial Inquiry Commission would expand from nine to 11 members. The District Judges Association; the Probate Judges Association, and the Municipal Judges Association will get one appointment each. In addition, the members would be term-limited, serving no more than eight years.

The Court of the Judiciary could suspend a judge found in violation of the Canons of Ethical Conduct with pay. Currently, the court can only suspend without pay.

The Legislature would lose its power to impeach members of the Alabama Supreme Court (the power has never been used).

District courts would no longer have to hold court in cities or towns of more than 1,000 people that lack a municipal court.

Alabama Court of Civil Appeals Justice Scott Donaldson, who served on an Alabama Law Institute committee that met between 2017 and 2019 to consider changes, said the committee chiefly looked at eliminating outdated language and improving court function.

A committee formed by the Alabama Law Institute, which studies state laws and recommends revisions or clarifications, worked for 19 months on the proposed changes. Scott Donaldson, an Alabama Court of Civil Appeals justice who served on the committee, said the goal was to make the law clear and remove redundant or outdated language.

We tried very hard to not make systemic, structural changes, and did not venture into areas that could be seen as partisan or should be left to another day, he said.

Sen. Cam Ward, R-Alabaster, the chair of the Senate Judiciary, said in an interview the amendment was a compromise following lengthy negotiations.

Youve got to have better accountability as to whos going to be the court administrator, he said. Thats one of the most important jobs in the judicial branch. It provides more stability. When it comes to removing judges it provides for a clear plan on how thats going to be handled.

Chief justices appoint AOC directors, but no Alabama chief justice has completed a full term in office in 25 years, leading to turnover in an office that oversees2,500 employees statewide, and there needs to be continuity in the position.

From a day-to-day standpoint, trial judges, clerks and employees are much more affected by the person who is the head of the Administrative Office of Courts than who is chief justice, he said. Its an attempt to have continuity and longevity in the position.

Ward said the turnover meant some directors didn't knownhow to work with the Legislature to secure funding.

They were responsible for advocating on behalf of the court during the budget process, Ward said. Sometimes there was a total lack of knowledge of the budget process.

Ward said the changes to the JIC process were part of negotiations with individuals who wanted to do away with the commission entirely.

You had judges being removed merely because a complaint was filed against them, he said. There should be a removal process for judges that do wrong, but merely because a complaint filed shouldnt be enough to remove somebody. There should be due process.

Closeup of gavel in court room(Photo: IPGGutenbergUKLtd, Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Amendment 3 deals with state circuit and district judges appointed to fill out the six-year term of a predecessor. The current law requires an appointed to judge to stand for election after serving a year in the position, unless they are facing the end of a term. The new law would push that limit out to two years, unless the appointed judge is facing the end of the term.

The amendment would not apply to probate judges. Rep. David Faulkner, R-Mountain Brook, the sponsor of the amendment, said in an interview the measure was aimed at encouraging attorneys to accept judicial appointments without having to worry about fundraising and campaigning immediately after taking the bench.

"What were trying to do is give good lawyers incentive to take judgeships," he said.

Section 256 of Alabama's 1901 Constitution established a segregated school system: "Separate schools shall be provided for white and colored children, and no child of either race shall be permitted to attend a school of the other race."(Photo: Alabama Department of Archives and History)

Amendment 4 would authorize a recompilation of the Alabama Constitution that would remove racist language from the document; delete any repealed or duplicative provisions; consolidate existing economic development language and group local amendments by county of application.

If voters approve the amendment, the Legislative Reference Service, a nonpartisan agency of the Legislature, would draft a list of changes for the Legislature to consider in 2021 or 2022. If approved, the changes would go to Alabama voters for consideration in the 2022 general election.

What we want to do with this compilation is bring it into the 21st century and be more reflective of the Alabama we are today, said Rep. Merika Coleman, D-Pleasant Grove, who sponsored the amendment. We are a more diverse state, of course.

The amendment won unanimous approval in both chambers of the Alabama Legislature in 2019. House Speaker Mac McCutcheon, R-Monrovia, was one of Colemans co-sponsors. McCutcheon said in a statement he "proudly co-sponsored the amendment" and encouraged its passage, saying the state constitution "should be inclusive of all the citizens it represents."

"The Alabama of 2020 is much different than the Alabama of 1901, and passage of this amendment will illustrate the progress we have made within the pages of our state constitution," the statement said.

The Alabama Constitution of 1901, framed to disenfranchise Black Alabamians and poor whites, includes several racist provisions. Section 102 of the Constitution forbids interracial marriages. Section 256 of the Constitution directs the Legislature to set up segregated schools.

Federal court rulings and state amendments have nullified most of its more offensive provisions, but the language remains. Removing it has been difficult, thanks to Amendment 111, added in 1956 amid the white backlash to Brown v. Board of Education, which said Alabama did not recognize any right to education or training at public expense. Coleman said Amendment 4 does not address that language, which has wrecked previous efforts to get racist language out of the Constitution.

In 2004, Alabama voters narrowly rejected an amendment known as Amendment 2, which would have jettisoned the 1956 language along with the 1901 language.

The amendment drew strong opposition from critics including former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore, who said removing the 1956 language could lead to tax increases and jeopardize private schools. The amendment fell short by 2,000 votes out of nearly 1.4 million cast.

A proposed amendment in 2012 removed racist language but kept the section denying the right to an education. Black legislators and the Alabama Education Association urged the measures defeat, saying retaining the language could complicate efforts to improve public school funding in Alabama. Almost 61% of the states voters voted against it.

Amendment 4 will also reclassify local amendments,which make up most of the 948 amendments to the Alabama Constitution,by the county in which they took effect.

Coleman said she hoped approval of the amendment would send a positive message about Alabama to the world.

It would show the rest of the country of course we have a sordid past, but its not who we are today, she said.

(Photo: Getty Images)

Amendments 5 and 6 are local amendments for Florence and Lauderdale counties in northern Alabama. The amendments allow the use of deadly force to protect a church attendee or employee if the person is at risk of physical harm from someone engaged in a crime involving death, robbery or kidnapping.

The bills are local versions of legislation brought by Rep. Lynn Greer, R-Rogersville, which failed to advance in the Legislature.

I know in my church weve got several people carrying weapons, Greer said in an interview. I feel better knowing there are people in there with one.

Greer said the amendment would not prevent churches from banning guns on their property. A person could face prosecution for unlawful use of force, or for recklessly or negligently injuring another person by their actions. A pretrial hearing would determine whether the person was justified in the use of force.

Critics questioned the need for the bill, noting that many of the provisions of the legislation are already covered by the states Stand Your Ground law, passed in 2006. Moms Demand Action, a group that seeks to reduce gun violence, opposes the legislation. The organization said the measures will make people less safe.

These amendments are both redundant and likely to embolden more Alabamians to shoot first and ask questions later, the group said.

Greer sponsored the Lauderdale amendment; Rep. Jamie Kiel, R-Russellville, sponsored the Franklin County amendment. Voters in Colbert, Limestone and Talladega counties will consider local versions of the same provision.

Legislators in Jefferson County voted no on a motion that would have limited the vote on Amendments 5 and 6 to the counties where they would take effect,which led to the measures going on the state ballot.

Greer said he plans to revive a statewide version of the amendments in the next legislative session.

Contact Montgomery Advertiser reporter Brian Lyman at 334-240-0185 or blyman@gannett.com. Updated at 2:47 p.m. Thursday to correct the location of a local amendment regarding guns and churches. It will be in Limestone County, not Lauderdale County.

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A voter's guide to the constitutional amendments on Alabama's 2020 ballot - Montgomery Advertiser