Google Gets Win in Antitrust Lawsuit Over Maps Monopoly Claims

Alphabet Inc. scored an early victory against antitrust litigation over claims it exploited the dominance of its Maps software to lock app developers into the Google ecosystem and gouge them on other necessary services.

Judge Jeffrey S. White tentatively dismissed the proposed class action, giving the businesses leading the lawsuit permission to refile it. For now, the suit’s legal theories are marred by myriad fatal flaws, particularly the failure to establish that the Maps terms of service amount to “coercion,” the judge found.

White, writing for the US District Court for the Northern District of California, said the allegations also failed to show Alphabet actually has a policy of tying the use of Maps services to the purchase of products that are also made by Google rivals.

“Plaintiffs do not allege what Google products they were forced to purchase or what products they were unable to purchase because of Google’s terms of service,” the judge wrote Nov. 1.

Nor did they properly define the market allegedly warped by Alphabet’s actions, he found. Rather than analyze product interchangeability in economic terms, the suit took Google’s marketing labels “and alleged, in conclusory fashion, that those categories are the relevant product markets,” White wrote.

He gave the businesses 30 days to amend their suit, part of a wave of antitrust challenges confronting Google, including a landmark Justice Department case, enforcement actions by state attorneys general, scrutiny from lawmakers, and class actions on behalf of consumers, developers, and advertisers.

The ongoing court cases take aim at Google’s dominance in an array of online markets, including search, advertising, and app distribution through its Play Store. The company was recently hit with claims that it leverages its Android operating system to suppress “voice assistant” technology.

The legislative efforts include a bill with bipartisan backing in the US Senate to ban dominant digital platforms like Google from “self-preferencing,” or favoring their own services in online search results. Despite fading hopes for passage, that bill could get a vote late in the year.

Alphabet is represented by Jones Day. The businesses are represented by Nematzadeh PLLC, Balestriere Fariello, and ESQGo PC.

The case is Dream Big Media Inc. v. Alphabet Inc., N.D. Cal., No. 22-cv-2314, 11/1/22.