Forty Attorneys General Join Mississippi in Support of Appeal in Google Lawsuit

Attorney General Jim Hood

Attorney General Jim Hood recently announced that 40 of our nation’s attorneys general filed an amicus curiae brief this week in support of Mississippi’s appeal from the District Court’s Order granting Google a preliminary injunction against Mississippi’s investigation into whether or not some of Google’s online conduct violates state law.

“I am extremely grateful that an overwhelming majority of our nation’s attorneys general, both Republican and Democrat, recognize that a state attorney general has the fundamental power to investigate potential violations of state law and that wrongdoers cannot run to federal court to escape legal oversight in the states where they do business,” said Attorney General Jim Hood.

Mississippi is appealing to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals a March 27, 2015, order enjoining the attorney general from enforcing a subpoena issued to Google asking questions about some of Google’s online practices including the alleged sale of prescription drugs without a prescription, the ability to buy fake ids and the sale of stolen credit card data on Google platforms.

States participating include: Arizona, Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia.