Ohio AG files lawsuit against Google; seeks to have search engine declared a public utility

DELAWARE COUNTY — A lawsuit filed Tuesday by Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost will seek to have Google declared a public utility, claiming the services provided by the search engine company are “discriminatory and anti-competitive.”

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In a media release sent Tuesday, Yost added the lawsuit is looking to reign in the ways the search engine provides search results to Ohioans.

“Google uses its dominance of internet search to steer Ohioans to Google’s own products--that’s discriminatory and anti-competitive,” Yost said in the media release. “When you own the railroad or the electric company or the cellphone tower, you have to treat everyone the same and give everybody access.”

Yost filed the lawsuit in Delaware County court, seeking Google to be declared a common carrier, or public utility, that’s subject to government regulation. The lawsuit also says Google has “a duty to offer sources or competitors rights equal to its own,” which means the search engine shouldn’t prioritize placement of its own products, services or website on search results pages, Yost said.

“In plain terms, Yost argues Ohioans are harmed by Google because they cannot make the best choices if they don’t get all of the information,” a spokesperson for the Ohio AG’s office said. “For example, if someone searches for a flight and Google returns its own presentation of search results to steer the person to Google Flights, the person doesn’t see offers from competitors such as Orbitz and Travelocity.”

Google made the following statement in response to the filed lawsuit:

“Google Search is designed to provide people with the most relevant and helpful results. AG Yost’s lawsuit would make Google Search results worse and make it harder for small businesses to connect directly with customers. Ohioans simply don’t want the government to run Google like a gas or electric company. This lawsuit has no basis in fact or law and we’ll defend ourselves against it in court.”

Ohio is the first state to file a lawsuit like this against Google, and the suit does not seek any monetary damages, the spokesperson for the Ohio AG’s office said.

Yost has gone after the search engine giant before when he joined 37 other state attorneys general in another anti-competition lawsuit, according to the spokesperson. Yost joined Ohio in the federal lawsuit, saying Google violated the Sherman Act, a federal law meant to stop businesses from forming monopolies and reduce competition.

“That lawsuit alleges that more competition in the general search engine market would benefit consumers, for example, through improved privacy protections and more targeted results and opportunities for consumers. The multi-state suit also alleges that competitive general search engines also could offer better quality advertising and lower prices to advertisers,” the Ohio AG spokesperson said.

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