As many of you know, Google and the DoJ (Department of Justice) are in the middle of an antitrust case in the US. In the latest turn of events, Yelp and a coalition of news organizations have asked the judge to remove Google’s lawyers from the antitrust case.
Yelp wants judge to remove Google’s lawyers from the ongoing antitrust case
What exactly happened? Well, to be more accurate, Yelp asked for an entire US law firm to be removed from the case. Yelp and the coalition claim that the firm has a conflict of interest, as it was previously their advocate on matters related to the case.
This request refers to the law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. It’s also worth noting that both Yelp and News/Media Alliance are the targets of Google’s subpoenas, not defendants in the case.
Why are they even there? Well, Google is trying to prove that it didn’t abuse its market dominance when it comes to web advertising. Yelp is a site you’ve probably heard of, it’s a service-recommendation site. Many of you have probably used it thus far.
Spokesperson for Paul Weiss disagrees with Yelp
Having said that, a spokesperson for Paul Weiss disagrees with Yelp. They see their presence as completely appropriate, or “appropriate in all respects”, as he put it. Neither Google nor Yelp had any further comments.
For the purposes of the trial, Google wants specific information from Yelp. The company wants Yelp to share information about its advertising technology business, and some other topics. The company is also requesting Yelp’s engagement letters, invoices, and bills related to its Paul Weiss ties, for the purpose of fighting Yelp’s request to get the firm removed from the case.
This antitrust case started about two weeks ago, and it’s all over the place. Google is trying to prove that it did not abuse its market dominance, while the DoJ is on the opposite side. The trial is set to last for about two months, by the way.
2023-09-26 15:06:06