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Yelp Files New EU Complaint Against Google Over Search Dominance (ft.com)
Yelp has filed a complaint with the EU's antitrust watchdog against Google, arguing that the search company has abused its dominance in local search and pressuring Brussels to launch new charges against the tech giant, Financial Times reported Tuesday. From the report: European antitrust authorities fined Google $2.8B in June 2017 for favouring its own shopping service over rival offerings in its search results. Google denied wrongdoing and has appealed that decision. Now Yelp, which provides user ratings, reviews and other information about local businesses, wants Margrethe Vestager, the EU Competition Commissioner, to take action against Google for similar alleged abuse in the local search market, according to a copy of the complaint seen by the Financial Times. The move comes days after Yelp founder Jeremy Stopplelman appeared on 60 Minutes to talk about Google's search monopoly. Here's the exchange he had with reporter Steve Kroft: Jeremy Stoppelman: If I were starting out today, I would have no shot of building Yelp. That opportunity has been closed off by Google and their approach.
Steve Kroft: In what way?
Jeremy Stoppelman: Because if you provide great content in one of these categories that is lucrative to Google, and seen as potentially threatening, they will snuff you out.
Steve Kroft: What do you mean snuff you out?
Jeremy Stoppelman: They will make you disappear. They will bury you.
Steve Kroft: In what way?
Jeremy Stoppelman: Because if you provide great content in one of these categories that is lucrative to Google, and seen as potentially threatening, they will snuff you out.
Steve Kroft: What do you mean snuff you out?
Jeremy Stoppelman: They will make you disappear. They will bury you.
Yeah really strange for Yelp to be complaining about anyone's business practices. Yelp is shady asf. Basically they call up businesses and say "if you don't pay up, we're going to post a bunch of fake reviews and damage your business".
I wish Google would show a lot LESS of Yelp, since Yelp is nothing but paid ads fraudulently marketed as reviews. We're I in charge of Google, I probably wouldn't list Yelp, or would significantly de-rank them as a known fraud.
Google really _should_ make Yelp go away. It would be a service to the world.
Absent that, site rating companies should mark them 'deceitful'.
John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
Yelp is just a long line of cry babies complaining their junk is not in the top of search results compared to Google's even though Yelp has heavily done SEO. Yelp wants a free ride with their junk at the top without having to pay Google for this. Wow.
Exactly. I stopped clicking on Yelp links and this is the biggest reason. It's not like they are "buried". I just don't click on them anymore. Plus when I did have a Yelp app I didn't really use it much. They basically want you to download their app which doesn't list google links, and then are complaining that Google's app doesn't list their links first.
If I thought the Yelp app was better than Google maps listings, I'd load the app to do these searches. But I just don't think it is. If they are losing Google search relevance, I'm guessing this is the reason. If that means they are getting snuffed out, I guess they are.
Jeremy Stoppelman: Because if you provide great content
Where is proof - Yelp! has certainly never provided anything I would label "great content". I wounder if he has any other examples and why he is so upset.
Repeal the 17th Amendment TODAY! Also Please Read http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/right-to-read.html
Are we sure Steve Kroft isn't a reporter bot. His questions sound a lot like Eliza replies:
That opportunity has been closed off by Google and their approach.
and seen as potentially threatening, they will snuff you out.
It must have been something you assimilated. . . .