The long-running Yelp Google lawsuit took a dramatic turn this week as a California federal judge allowed key antitrust claims to proceed, accusing Google of leveraging its general search monopoly to dominate the local search market and shut out rivals.
In a Wednesday order, U.S. District Judge Susan van Keulen denied Google’s partial motion to dismiss, finding that Yelp’s amended complaint successfully corrected flaws previously identified by the court. The new version zeroes in on Google’s practice of integrating local search results directly into its “OneBox” feature, ensuring users consume Google’s own listings before ever seeing organic or external results.
Court Recognizes Yelp’s “Refined” Theory of Coercion
Judge van Keulen’s order marked a pivotal shift in the high-stakes battle. Yelp alleged that Google tied its general search and local search products, coercing users through design choices that make Google’s local listings unavoidable.
The judge agreed that Yelp’s updated complaint presented a “cognizable” theory of how users are funneled into Google’s ecosystem. The company’s “OneBox” — the prominent feature atop most search pages — allegedly captures user attention and suppresses rival visibility.
Citing data showing 58.5% of U.S. Google searches result in zero clicks, the judge noted it’s reasonable to infer that users’ needs are satisfied within Google’s own interface. “They have already consumed Google’s local search content by design,” the order stated, underscoring Yelp’s argument that Google’s practices stifle competition and consumer choice.
