Ohio AG Dave Yost’s lawsuit seeking to declare Google a common carrier scheduled to go to trial in 2024

Yost claims the search engine’s current business practices are ’tilting the playing field against consumers and against emerging competitors.’

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio and Google will have their day in court.

State Attorney General Dave Yost’s lawsuit seeking government oversight for the world’s largest search engine will go to trial beginning in May of 2024. Yost contends Google should be classified as a common carrier, meaning it would have to offer its competitors equal placement in search results for users.

“By manipulating search results to self-preference its own products, Google is tilting the playing field against consumers and against emerging competitors,” Yost said in a statement. “It’s time to bring those unfair practices to an end.”

The attorney general first filed the lawsuit in June of last year, arguing Google’s specific product placement practices harmed Ohioans by not giving them all information. Google subsequently filed a motion to have the entire complaint dismissed, claiming it develops a “subjective opinion about what the user will find most beneficial.”

This past May, a judge in Delaware County threw out part of the lawsuit seeking to classify Google as a public entity since it is not a government-run organization. However, the ruling kept the remainder of the case intact, suggesting Google must be subject to common-carrier laws in the United States.

“Google cannot use its dominance in search to squeeze out competitors of other services, like travel reservations, shopping and consumer reviews,” Yost said at the time of that ruling.

The trial is currently scheduled to begin May 14, 2024 in Delaware County Common Pleas Court.

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