Court Says Yelp Can Pursue Claims That Google Rigged Local Search Market

The case centers on allegations that Google used its dominance in general search to unfairly suppress competition in the local search market.

U.S. District Judge Susan van Keulen issued the decision on Wednesday, rejecting Google’s bid to dismiss portions of the case. Yelp had previously been ordered to revise its complaint, and the updated version—filed earlier this year—apparently met the court’s standards. Per Bloomberg, the amended filing strengthens Yelp’s argument that Google’s integration of local business listings into its “OneBox” display effectively directs users to Google’s own services while burying competitors’ results.

Related: Judge Allows Yelp’s Antitrust Lawsuit Against Google to Proceed

In her order, Judge van Keulen concluded that Yelp’s new claims establish a plausible “theory of coercion,” suggesting that users are steered toward Google’s local content by design. The OneBox feature, which appears at the top of most Google search pages, plays a central role in this alleged steering. According to Bloomberg’s account of the decision, the judge found that Yelp’s refined claims sufficiently demonstrated how Google’s interface could limit user exposure to non-Google listings.

The order also referenced data cited by Yelp showing that nearly 58.5% of U.S. searches on Google result in “zero clicks,” implying that users often find what they need without leaving Google’s results page. The court said it is reasonable to infer that this design leaves competitors like Yelp at a significant disadvantage. By keeping users within its own ecosystem, Google may be restricting both market competition and consumer choice, the judge noted.

Source: Court House News Service