Google has failed in its bid to halt a consumer antitrust lawsuit in the United States, after a federal judge ruled that the case can proceed on key claims challenging the company’s dominance in online search.
In a decision issued on Wednesday, US District Judge Rita Lin of the Northern District of California held that consumers had presented sufficient evidence, at this stage, to pursue allegations that Google violated federal antitrust laws by using business agreements to maintain its control of the search market.
The lawsuit, filed last year as a proposed class action, accuses the Alphabet-owned company of illegally shutting out rival search engines through exclusive agreements with major technology firms. These include deals with Apple, Android phone manufacturers, wireless carriers and browser developers to make Google the default search engine on devices and applications.
Judge Lin said the claims closely resemble those raised by the US Department of Justice in a separate case, which resulted in a landmark 2024 ruling that Google holds an illegal monopoly in online search.
While the judge delivered a partial win for Google by barring claims linked to conduct before 2017, she allowed the core allegations to move forward. Lin also noted that the plaintiffs could attempt to reassert the earlier claims in an amended filing.
Google, which had asked the court to dismiss the case in its entirety, denied any wrongdoing. The company did not immediately respond to requests for comment following the ruling. Lawyers representing the consumers also declined to comment.
According to the plaintiffs, Google’s agreements effectively locked up the search market and prevented competitors from achieving the scale needed to challenge its position. They argue that this reduced consumer choice and blocked alternatives that might have offered fewer advertisements, stronger privacy protections or even payments to users for conducting searches.
Google countered that it was unrealistic to suggest rival search engines could sustainably pay users or deliver significantly better privacy standards. However, Judge Lin said the complaint cited examples of smaller search engines offering rewards or ad-free services, and plausibly argued that these firms struggled largely because Google’s deals restricted their access to users.
The case is titled James Attridge et al. v. Google and is being heard at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
Melissa Enoch
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