FTC Files Amicus Brief on DOJ’s Proposed Final Judgment Against Google for Antitrust Violations

The Federal Trade Commission filed an amicus brief today in support of the Department of Justice’s Revised Proposed Final Judgment (RPFJ) related to Google’s antitrust violations.

In August 2024, a federal judge found that Google violated Section 2 of the Sherman Act by maintaining monopolies in general search services and general text advertising. As part of the RPFJ aimed at remedying these violations, DOJ proposed that Google be required to share targeted portions of its search index, user, and ads data with certain competitors for a limited period of time with suitable security and privacy safeguards.

As the nation’s primary privacy enforcer, the FTC has a strong interest in ensuring that companies vigorously protect consumers’ privacy and long experience with crafting appropriate remedies to address such privacy and data security violations.

“The privacy safeguards proposed by DOJ are in line with the measures the FTC has required numerous companies to take to address privacy and data security failures,” said Katherine White, Deputy Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “The RPFJ may also force Google and other market participants to finally compete on protecting consumer privacy.”

In its brief, the FTC described the ways in which the RPFJ is consistent with the Commission’s own privacy and data-security orders, and noted Google’s questionable track record related to privacy. The company has entered into three separate consent agreements with the FTC since 2011 over alleged privacy violations.

DOJ’s RPFJ includes similar safeguards to those required by the FTC under the privacy orders the agency has entered into with numerous companies for allegedly failing to protect consumer privacy and data security, according to the FTC’s brief. These privacy orders include requirements that companies establish programs designed to identify and mitigate potential privacy and security risks. These programs are also subject to independent audits by third-party assessors and oversight by the FTC or a federal court.

DOJ’s RPFJ recommends that the court appoint a Technical Committee made up of independent experts that would be charged with ensuring that Qualified Competitors that receive data from Google have adequate safeguards in place to protect Google users’ privacy.

The FTC’s brief argued that the Technical Committee’s oversight is critical to ensuring Google—and competitors who receive user data—adhere to their required privacy obligations, particularly given Google’s past privacy lapses, which included paying a civil penalty for violating its 2011 privacy order with the FTC.

In addition, the brief noted that the RPFJ’s data sharing requirements may create an incentive for Google and other market participants to compete on privacy and data protection, driving higher quality protection market wide.

The Commission vote authorizing staff to file the amicus brief was 1-0-2, with Commissioners Melissa Holyoak and Mark R. Meador recused. Commissioner Holyoak is recused from participating in this matter due to her previous work as Utah’s Solicitor General, where she led Utah’s involvement in the litigation against Google that is the subject of today’s amicus.