Yelp Files Antitrust Lawsuit Against Google Following Landmark Ruling

Yelp Sues Google in Wake of Landmark Antitrust Ruling on Search

(Bloomberg) -- Online review site Yelp Inc. filed a lawsuit alleging that Google has illegal monopoly power in local search, in a sign of the legal headaches that may await the search giant following the US government's landmark antitrust victory against the company. Yelp claims the Alphabet Inc. unit has an unfair edge in the market for local search and associated advertising, both spaces in which the San Francisco-based company has strived to compete with its detailed reviews of restaurants, beauty parlors and other establishments. Yelp has spoken out about what it considers to be Google's anticompetitive conduct for well over a decade. But the timing of Yelp's lawsuit, filed just weeks after a Washington federal judge ruled that Google illegally monopolized the search market through exclusive deals, suggests that more companies may be emboldened to take action against the search leader in the coming months. Yelp drew from US District Judge Amit Mehta's decision to show how Google used its monopoly in the market for all-purpose search engines to dominate other spaces, Yelp General Counsel Aaron Schur said in an interview. Mehta's findings "really do serve as the brick-and-mortar foundation for our own claims," Schur said. "Our case is asserting that Google has abused that illegal monopoly in general search that has already been decided by Judge Mehta, and it's using that monopoly to self-preference that inferior content in the adjacent market of local search and also the local search advertising market." A Google spokesperson said in a statement that the company would "vigorously defend against Yelp's meritless claims." "Yelp's claims are not new,'' Google said, noting that similar allegations were thrown out years ago by the Federal Trade Commission, and recently by the judge in the US Justice Department's case. "On the other aspects of the decision to which Yelp refers, we are appealing." In its complaint, Yelp recounts how Google at first sought to move users off its search page and out onto the web as quickly as possible, giving rise to a thriving ecosystem of sites like Yelp that sought to provide the information consumers were seeking. But when Google saw just how lucrative it could be to help users find which plumber to hire or which pizza to order, it decided to enter the market itself, Yelp alleges. Yelp hopes its suit will bar Google from placing its own reviews above those of competitors, Schur said. "First and foremost we want Google to end its unlawful self-preferencing, which hurts consumers, hurts competition and hurts the businesses that pay for local search advertising," Schur said. "That is really what we are focused on in this case." Yelp has fought a multi-year battle in the US and the European Union against Google, which it has long accused of maintaining an illegal monopoly over the internet search market and in particular of abusing its dominant position by putting its own reviews higher in search results than those of its rivals. The Justice Department is now considering seeking to break up Google in what would be Washington's first push to dismantle a company for illegal monopolization since unsuccessful efforts to break up Microsoft Corp. two decades ago. Less severe options include forcing Google to share more data with competitors and measures to prevent it from gaining an unfair advantage in AI products, Bloomberg News has reported. Google has said it will appeal the judge's ruling. The US plan will need to be accepted by Mehta, who would have to direct the company to comply. A forced breakup of Google would be the biggest of a US company since AT&T was dismantled in the 1980s. In the wake of the decision, Yelp may not be the only company reassessing its options. "I can't speculate as to what other companies will do, but the self-preferencing that we describe in the complaint as a general matter isn't unique to Yelp," Schur said. "It's not a unique story."The lawsuit was earlier reported by the New York Times.

Yelp accuses Google in antitrust lawsuit of illegally promoting its own content over rivals

Thought bubble, via Axios' Ashley Gold: The lawsuit is a culmination of Yelp's longtime complaints against Google, but it will be a challenge to prove concepts like quality of search results in court and will be especially hard in the context of how generative AI is changing search results. Driving the news: The suit, which Google calls "meritless," alleges that Google has engaged in illegal monopoly leveraging in the local search services market in violation of U.S. antitrust law. Zoom out: Google Yelp has for years lobbied federal and state government officials including in the Department of Justice with complaints of self-preferencing and seeking more oversight, but it had never sued its rival until Wednesday, when it filed a lawsuit in federal court in San Francisco. What they're saying: Yelp's General Counsel Aaron Schur in an emailed statement Wednesday called Judge Amit Mehta's recent ruling that found Google illegally maintained its monopoly in general search, "is a watershed moment in antitrust law, and provides a strong foundation for Yelp's case against Google." The other side: "Yelp's claims are not new," said a Google spokesperson in a statement shared with outlets including Axios.

Yelp files antitrust lawsuit against Google: Read the company's response - Times of India

Yelp, one of Google's rivals, has filed a lawsuit against Google in federal court in San Francisco. Yelp co-founder and CEO Jeremy Stoppelman announced the same in a blog post. The company alleges that Google has illegally abused its monopoly in general search to dominate the local search and local search advertising markets. "With our action, we aim to safeguard competition, protect consumer choice, recover damages, and prevent Google from engaging in anticompetitive practices so that innovation may flourish," Stoppelman said. Yelp accuses Google of manipulating the search results Yelp CEO claims that when a consumer conducts a Google search with local intent, Google manipulates its results to promote its own local search offerings above those of its rivals, regardless of the comparative poorer quality of its own properties, exempting itself from the qualitative ranking system it uses for other sites. "In other words, Google abuses its monopoly power in general search to keep users within Google's owned ecosystem and prevents them from going to rival sites," he added. Yelp says that consumers are the ultimate losers of Google's allegedly anticompetitive behavior. "By keeping users from leaving Google, other vertical search services are prevented from reaching customers, achieving scale, and building helpful content," Stoppelman wrote in the blog post. "This softening of the competitive landscape translates to less incentive for Google to invest in quality content that would improve the consumer experience, and greater incentives to show less relevant but nevertheless monetizable results." What is Google's response In a statement to The Verge, Google spokesperson Peter Schottenfels said ""Yelp's claims are not new. Similar claims were thrown out years ago by the FTC, and recently by the judge in the DOJ's case. On the other aspects of the decision to which Yelp refers, we are appealing. Google will vigorously defend against Yelp's meritless claims." This is not the first time that Yelp has raised concerns about Google's monopoly. In 2020, a high-ranking Yelp executive appeared before the Senate to present the company's grievances against Google. The company has also filed a formal complaint with the EU, accusing Google of unfairly favoring its own services in search results, a practice known as "self-preferencing." Yelp has also openly supported efforts by government agencies to pursue antitrust charges against Google. The TOI Tech Desk is a dedicated team of journalists committed to delivering the latest and most relevant news from the world of technology to readers of The Times of India. TOI Tech Desk's news coverage spans a wide spectrum across gadget launches, gadget reviews, trends, in-depth analysis, exclusive reports and breaking stories that impact technology and the digital universe. Be it how-tos or the latest happenings in AI, cybersecurity, personal gadgets, platforms like WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook and more; TOI Tech Desk brings the news with accuracy and authenticity.