Yelp sued Google for anti-trust violations & search engine monopoly

Tech company Yelp sued giant Google for anti-trust violations while accusing it of search engine monopoly. This legal action against Google came after the US District Court in Columbia ruled Google violated American antitrust law in its search business on August 6, 2024.

Yelp has long complained about Google’s dominance in search engines. It claimed in a lawsuit that Google has suppressed Yelp’s growth since it turned down its offer to purchase the platform.

For 20 years, Yelp has focused on our mission to connect consumers with great local businesses.

Today, we filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google to address their anticompetitive behavior and protect consumer choice. Learn more: https://t.co/Eevrzl44BO. pic.twitter.com/qAdwA560Ur
— Yelp (@Yelp) August 28, 2024

Yelp stated in an online blog post that its case is about Google. It is the largest information gatekeeper in existence but keeps its heavy thumb on suppressing competitors and limits consumers within its own walled garden.

As a result, Yelp sued Google in a federal court in San Francisco on August 28, 2024. It claimed when a user looks for local search results on Google, the search engine manipulates the results to promote its own local search offerings.

Google’s Antitrust Defeat Opens the Door to Lawsuit From Yelp https://t.co/z3v7T53G6Q
— Yelp (@Yelp) August 28, 2024

Click here to read the updates on the US Court ruled Google maintained an illegal monopoly over online search

According to Yelp, this enables Google to surpass its competitors unjustly. In other words, when a user looks up a nearby restaurant, Google exploits its monopoly power to provide them with all the information they need, including hours, directions, and reviews which saves them from having to click on a single external link like Yelp.

However, Yelp is not the only specialized search engine provider. The complaint mentioned sites including Expedia, Glassdoor, and Zillow as Google’s competitors on a level playing field. Expedia is a travel company while Glassdoor is job and employer review. Zillow is a real estate site.

Yelp claimed in its lawsuit Google does this because it has better quality reviews and services than it. It also cited an FTC report which showed 32% of Google reviews have no text. However, quality reviews always need text which comes in Yelp reviews.