Google Beats Ohio AG’s Suit to Regulate Search as Public Utility

Google LLC is not a common carrier that can be regulated as a public utility, an Ohio state court ruled Friday, dealing a blow to the state’s attorney general.

The tech giant’s search business doesn’t transport property, doesn’t hold itself out as indifferently providing search results, so it can’t be a common carrier under Ohio law, Judge James P. Schuck of the Delaware County Court of Common Pleas ruled.

The ruling ends Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost’s (R) 2021 lawsuit against the company seeking a court ruling that Google is a common carrier subject to regulation by the Ohio Public ...