Yelp files lawsuit against Google [Video]

NEW YORK –

Yelp filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google on Wednesday, alleging Google used its monopoly to dominate local search and advertising markets.

A federal judge’s ruling that Google violated U.S. antitrust law with its search business earlier in August paved the way for the lawsuit by Yelp, another major tech company that allows users to write reviews of local businesses. Yelp has long raised grievances with Google’s search dominance, saying in the complaint Google had stymied Yelp’s reach since rejecting the tech giant’s offer to buy the platform.

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“Our case is about Google, the largest information gatekeeper in existence, putting its heavy thumb on the scale to stifle competition and keep consumers within its own walled garden,” Yelp said in an online blog post on Wednesday.

The staggering defeat for Google in the US District Court of the District of Columbia had the potential to reshape how millions of Americans get their information online. …