Other LanguagesAttorney General Bob Ferguson today partnered with a bipartisan coalition of 38 attorneys general to file a federal antitrust lawsuit against Google. The lawsuit asserts that the technology giant illegally leverages its dominance in the online search and search advertising markets to stifle competing platforms, drive advertisers away from rival search engines, and limit competing specialized sellers’ ability to bring customers directly to their sites from general Google search results.
SEATTLE — Attorney General Bob Ferguson today announced the results of a sweep cracking down on illegal internet vaping sales into Washington. As a result of the sweep, five companies caught violating Washington’s age verification law — including one based in Spokane — will pay a total of $132,000 to the Attorney General’s Office, which will go toward continued enforcement of the law. Moreover, the five companies entered into legally binding agreements to change their advertising and online sales practices to comply with Washington’s youth access law. The Attorney General’s Office has or will file lawsuits against two more companies for the same issues.
Attorney General Bob Ferguson today filed an antitrust lawsuit against Facebook asserting the company formed an illegal monopoly in the personal social networking market. The company formed this monopoly by buying or constraining potential competitors, usually mobile apps, in their infancy — including rivals Instagram and WhatsApp.
Attorney General Bob Ferguson today announced that Synapse Group, the country’s top magazine subscription company, must return all of the money it charged more than 2,000 Washington consumers for deceptive auto-renewals, an estimated total of $125,000. These customers bought magazine subscriptions at a highly discounted promotional rate of $2. However, the company did not clearly disclose that these $2 subscriptions would auto-renew at full price. In addition to the checks themselves, Synapse is also required to pay the Attorney General’s Office $750,000 for reasonable attorney costs and fees, future monitoring and enforcement of today’s resolution, and future enforcement of the Consumer Protection Act.
OLYMPIA — In response to concerns raised by consumer complaints and news reports, Attorney General Bob Ferguson issued guidance today for third-party restaurant delivery services. The guidance is aimed at helping the companies avoid violations of Washington’s Consumer Protection Act.
SEATTLE — A King County Superior Court judge today found AmerisourceBergen Drug Corp., one of the largest prescription opioid distributors in the world, in contempt of court for failing to turn over important documents and attempting to shield key witnesses from testifying. AmerisourceBergen is one of the three companies Attorney General Bob Ferguson sued in March 2019 for unlawfully contributing to Washington state’s opioid epidemic.
SEATTLE — A King County Superior Court Commissioner ordered an Auburn property management company to pay a total of half a million dollars in restitution for impacted Washingtonians and financial penalties. The company’s owner hijacked the homes of people who hired his company by adding new walls and rooms without the owners’ knowledge or consent and refusing to pay homeowners.
SEATTLE — Attorney General Bob Ferguson today announced that Christopher Lischewski, formerly the CEO of Bumble Bee brand tuna, will pay $100,000 to Washington for his role in a canned tuna price-fixing scheme that artificially inflated the price of tuna from the three largest national brands: Bumble Bee, Chicken of the Sea and StarKist.
OLYMPIA — Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s fifth annual Data Breach Report, released today, showed that the number of Washingtonians affected by breaches nearly doubled in the last year and ransomware attacks tripled.
Attorney General Bob Ferguson today secured a court order against Health Insurance Team, a Seattle-based insurance company, for imitating the official state-run health insurance exchange. Ferguson’s complaint, filed today along with the order, asserts that Health Insurance Team’s marketing violated the Consumer Protection Act’s prohibition on deceptive advertising.