Yelp sues Google for anti-competitive practices: All the details

Google

Popular online review platform Yelp has filed a lawsuit against Google alleging that the tech giant has engaged in anticompetitive practices that have harmed Yelp's business. In a blog post, Jeremy Stoppelman, co-founder and CEO, Yelp said 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 said 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.

Yelp also said that when competitors can’t achieve scale due to Google’s “self-preferencing”, it harms advertisers too. “Google’s conduct suppresses competition in the local search advertising market, ensuring that more local advertisers turn to Google,” said Stoppelman.

What Google has to say?

In a statement given to The Verge, a Google spokesperson 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.”

Yelp’s lawsuit comes after a US federal judge concluded that Google has unlawfully maintained a monopoly in the general search market for year. “We believe our lawsuit takes a critical step towards a level playing field in which Yelp and other local search providers can effectively compete, and provide consumers with the best local search experience,” said Stoppelman.