Statement from Connected Commerce Council President Jake Ward Regarding DOJ’s “Shockingly Un-American” Antitrust Suit

WASHINGTON, DC (October 20, 2020): Connected Commerce Council (3C) President Jake Ward released the following statement in response to the Department of Justice filing an antitrust lawsuit against Google.

“The Justice Department’s antitrust investigation of Google – and now its lawsuit – is political theatre under the guise of protecting market integrity. It is shockingly un-American for the Justice Department to try to punish success for political gain, and reprehensible that tens of millions of small businesses could become roadkill on this crassly political highway. It is right and reasonable for the DOJ and state attorneys general to guard against consumer harm, but this suit fails to do that. 

“Fierce competition among digital companies vying for small businesses’ advertising and marketing dollars has produced an abundance of free and low-cost digital tools that countless small businesses use to run and grow their business in normal times and that comprise the Digital Safety Net that helps sustain them in times of crisis. During a global pandemic and economic recession, the Government should be promoting small business adoption of Digital Safety Net tools, not creating digital uncertainty with ham-handed intervention.”