Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C., a nationally recognized stockholder rights law firm, announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Alphabet Inc. (“Alphabet” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: GOOG, GOOGL) in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California on behalf of all persons and entities who purchased or otherwise acquired Alphabet securities between February 4, 2020 and January 23, 2023, both dates inclusive (the “Class Period”). Investors have until May 15, 2023 to apply to the Court to be appointed as lead plaintiff in the lawsuit.

Click here to participate in the action.

Alphabet is a multinational technology conglomerate holding company. It was created through a restructuring of Google Inc. in October 2015, at which point Alphabet became the parent company of Google and several former Google subsidiaries. Alphabet is headquartered in Mountain View, California and incorporated in Delaware. The Company’s Class A and Class C shares trade on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbols “GOOGL” and “GOOG,” respectively.

Alphabet’s subsidiary Google is a dominant player in the field of digital advertising, to the extent that it controls the digital tools that every major website publisher uses to sell advertising space on their websites.

In recent years, Google’s dominance in this industry has drawn regulatory scrutiny. In July 2018, the European Commission (“EC”) fined Google €2.42 billion for promoting its own shopping comparison service at the top of its search results. Less than a year later, in March 2019, the EC fined Google €1.49 billion for preventing rivals from being able to “compete and innovate fairly” in the online advertising market. In June 2019, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) reported that it would investigate Google for antitrust violations. Then, in October 2020, the DOJ filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google, alleging that it had abused a monopoly position in the search and search advertising markets.

Throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company’s business, operations, and compliance policies. Specifically, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) Alphabet used its dominance in the field of digital advertising to disadvantage website publishers and advertisers who used competing advertising products; (ii) the foregoing conduct was anticompetitive in nature and likely to draw significant regulatory scrutiny; (iii) Alphabet’s revenues were unsustainable to the extent that they were the product of said anticompetitive conduct; (iv) Alphabet’s conduct, once revealed, would negatively impact the Company’s reputation and expose it to a heightened risk of litigation and regulatory enforcement action; and (v) as a result, the Company’s public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.

On January 24, 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice and eight states filed an antitrust lawsuit against Alphabet’s Google subsidiary, accusing Google of illegally abusing its dominance in digital advertising and violating the Sherman Antitrust Act. The lawsuit alleges, among other things, that “Google abuses its monopoly power to disadvantage website publishers and advertisers who dare to use competing ad tech products in a search for higher quality, or lower cost, matches.”

On this news, Alphabet’s Class A shares fell $2.09 per share, or 2.09%, to close at $97.70 per share, while its Class C shares fell $2.00 per share, or 1.98%, to close at $99.21 per share, on January 24, 2023

As a result of Defendants’ wrongful acts and omissions, and the precipitous decline in the market value of the Company’s securities, Plaintiff and other Class members have suffered significant losses and damages.

If you purchased or otherwise acquired Alphabet shares and suffered a loss, are a long-term stockholder, have information, would like to learn more about these claims, or have any questions concerning this announcement or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact Brandon Walker or Marion Passmore by email at investigations@bespc.com, telephone at (212) 355-4648, or by filling out this contact form. There is no cost or obligation to you.

About Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C.:

Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C. is a nationally recognized law firm with offices in New York, California, and South Carolina. The firm represents individual and institutional investors in commercial, securities, derivative, and other complex litigation in state and federal courts across the country. For more information about the firm, please visit www.bespc.com. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230320005690/en/