Yelp files antitrust suit against Google over monopolistic local search practices (Update: Google statement)

Update: August 28, 2024 (09:05 PM ET): Google has responded to our request for comment. The company characterizes Yelp’s accusations as not meaningfully distinct from the sort of antitrust charges it has successfully defended itself against in the past. A spokesperson explains:

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.

Sometimes you have to wonder if Google’s legal department has an erasable sign up on the wall: It has been [_] days since the last antitrust suit against Google. We’d also wonder if that number ever gets to triple digits, as it feels like the company can’t go more than a couple months without being hit with the latest allegations of unfair business practices. Now the most recent action to be taken against the search heavyweight is just the latest development in a saga dating back over 15 years, as Yelp accuses Google of monopolistic practices.

Yelp and Google used to be partners, with the latter licensing the former’s reviews. After that arrangement ended, you might remember that Google even tried to acquire Yelp. But that deal never came to pass, and not long after, the relationship really started to sour, with Yelp accusing Google of scraping its content without permission. This was still ten years ago, and Google Search has evolved a lot in the time since, with both a whole lot greater emphasis on local content, and giving users the results they’re looking for right on Google itself — and far less clicking through to sites like Yelp.

That’s the problem at the core of Yelp’s new suit against Google, filed today in federal court in San Francisco. Search for reviews today, and while you will likely see Yelp pretty high in Google’s results, it often feels like all those off-Google results are dwarfed by the company’s own knowledge panels or business profiles. And with those containing the same sort of user reviews that Yelp offers — but here, one click closer — a user is going to be that much less inclined to keep digging.

As a consequence of this, Yelp feels that it’s losing out on ad dollars that are now being spent directly with Google. As for what kind resolution it’s looking for, the company is in favor of an effort called Focus on the User, which promotes the idea that Google should surface the highest-quality results for any given query. That sounds reasonable on its face, but the more you think about it, the more mired in subjectivity and problematic it feels.

Still, this is one fight that’s been a long time coming, and it seems clear that something needs to give. Whether that’s going to mean Yelp needing to make drastic changes to its business model, or Google overhauling the look of Search once again, we don’t yet know. As of today, anyway, the fate of both companies may be in the court’s hands.

We’ve reached out to Google for comment on this legal action, and will update you with any response we get.