What just happened? Google is the focus of two antitrust lawsuits filed in the last 24 hours and the third in three months. Both Colorado and Texas are leading multistate coalitions against the tech giant in separate but similar filings.

On Thursday, Colorado's Attorney General Phil Weiser announced he is leading a multistate effort to "end Google's monopoly" in the internet search sector. Weiser and 38 other state attorneys general claim that Google has illegally maintained a monopolistic hold and has erected "insurmountable barriers" to keep competitors out of the market. According to the court filing, the search giant's actions have violated section 2 of the Sherman Act.

"Our economy is more concentrated than ever, and consumers are squeezed when they are deprived of choices in valued products and services. Google's anticompetitive actions have protected its general search monopolies and excluded rivals, depriving consumers of the benefits of competitive choices, forestalling innovation, and undermining new entry or expansion," said Weiser in a statement. "This lawsuit seeks to restore competition."

#BREAKING: Texas takes the lead once more! Today, we’re filing a lawsuit against #Google for anticompetitive conduct.

This internet Goliath used its power to manipulate the market, destroy competition, and harm YOU, the consumer. Stay tuned… pic.twitter.com/fdEVEWQb0e

— Texas Attorney General (@TXAG) December 16, 2020

Colorado's antitrust lawsuit is the third filed this year and the second in less than 24 hours. On Wednesday, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton issued a video tweet announcing his office is leading a multistate coalition against the "Internet Goliath" for similar reasons. Paxton alleges that the company has practiced "anticompetitive conduct, exclusionary practices, and deceptive misrepresentations."

Additionally, in October, the Department of Justice leveled its sights on the tech titan in a lawsuit alleging it has engaged in anticompetitive practices to protect monopolies in the general search and search advertising industries. The DoJ claims that Google has maintained a stranglehold on the search industry over the last ten years, owning a solid 80 percent of the market across all platforms since at least January 2010.

Google has not yet commented on any of the allegations.

Image credit: Ascannio