Yelp filed an antitrust lawsuit against internet monolith Google on Wednesday saying the company used its position as the dominant search engine to boost its own review services while suppressing traffic to competitive review sites like Yelp, CNN reports.
“Yelp has long fought to make Google’s local search experience more helpful for consumers and create a level playing field for competing vertical search services,” the company said in an online statement. “With our action, we aim to safeguard competition, protect consumer choice, recover damages, and prevent Google from engaging in anticompetitive practices so that innovation may flourish.”
Yelp says its customer draws are reduced by Google providing similar service and highlighting its options first, and its lawsuit comes weeks after a judge in DC federal court found Google was unfairly operating an illegal monopoly on internet searches.