Review site Yelp sues Google, accusing it of giving the site an unfair advantage in the local search market

Yelp, a review service, has announced that it has filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google in the U.S. District Court for the District of San Francisco. Yelp alleges that Google has abandoned its mission to provide users with the best information possible and has illegally abused its monopoly in search to dominate the local search and local search advertising markets, reducing the quality of search results and downgrading competitors to expand its market power.

[Names of complaint] - Yelp-v.-Google-Complaint-August-28-2024.pdf
(PDF file) https://trust.yelp.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Yelp-v.-Google-Complaint-August-28-2024.pdf

Fighting for fair competition, consumer choice, and a more helpful Google search experience | Yelp - Official Blog
https://blog.yelp.com/news/yelp-v-google/

Google Sued by Yelp in Antitrust Case - The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/28/technology/google-yelp-lawsuit.html

Yelp has been a long-time critic of Google, frequently complaining about how it treats other companies in its search results.

Yelp, a review site, sharply criticizes Google for not serving users - GIGAZINE

by C.E. Kent

'This is a watershed moment. It's time for a conversation, and it's time for Google to right the wrongs of the past,' Yelp co-founder Jeremy Stoppelman told The New York Times.

'Google has recently been found to have illegally maintained a monopoly on general search through multi-billion-dollar exclusive deals with browsers, devices and mobile operators. This monopoly gives Google control over what consumers see and where they see it. This dominance has given Google significant power over adjacent markets, including local search and local search advertising,' Yelp said.

In addition, Yelp pointed out that 'Google is avoiding fair competition by not subjecting its content to a qualitative ranking algorithm because it knows it cannot win on the quality of local search results,' and that Google is inflating its numbers to disguise its credibility.

Yelp also cited the Department of Justice's antitrust lawsuit against Google, in which Judge Amit P. Mehta of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that Google's conduct constituted a monopoly in general search services and general search text advertising, and argued that Google's monopoly practices are recognized as illegal.

Federal judge rules that Google is violating antitrust laws by paying to maintain its position in smartphone search - GIGAZINE

In addition, Google's long-standing illegal activities are recognized not only in the United States but also in the EU, and the European Commission is investigating the company for suspected non-compliance with antitrust rules under the Digital Markets Act.

European Commission launches investigation into Apple, Meta and Google for alleged violation of digital market law; if found to be malicious, fines of up to 20% of global sales could be imposed - GIGAZINE

In response to Yelp's lawsuit, a Google spokesperson said in a statement, 'Yelp's claims are not new. They have been rejected by the Federal Trade Commission and more recently by the District Court for the District of Columbia. We are appealing the decisions Yelp references. Google vigorously refutes Yelp's baseless claims.'