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Yelp Files New EU Complaint Against Google Over Search Dominance (ft.com)

Posted by msmash on from the tussle-continues dept.

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.

17 of 71 comments (clear)

  1. Screw Yelp by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    It's really ironic that Yelp of all companies is complaining about deceitful practices. Yelp takes down 5-star reviews from actual customers claiming "their algorithm is able to filter out non-relevant reviews". I've had dozens of 5-star reviews taken down from my company's page that I know were from actual customers (who also had multiple reviews with other businesses).

    A possible reason for Yelp doing this? Maybe because I've told them numerous times that I did not want to advertise with them.

    1. Re:Screw Yelp by HornWumpus · · Score: 5, Interesting

      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'
    2. Re:Screw Yelp by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Great conspiracy theory! Five stars.

      Yelp's abuse of businesses has been pretty widely documented for a quite some time now.

      But, if you chose to trust them (even though you know nothing about how they do business) then be my guest.

  2. Yelp is a protection racket. Extortion by raymorris · · Score: 5, Interesting

    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.

    1. Re:Yelp is a protection racket. Extortion by b0s0z0ku · · Score: 5, Informative

      Not only that, but they don't let people view full business reviews on a mobile browser -- they try to force people to download their silly little app.

    2. Re:Yelp is a protection racket. Extortion by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      And you know why?

      So they can collect your phone number, device ID, IMSI/IMEI, call history, text messages, contacts, browser ID, potentially browsing history and then sell that information.

      The ONLY reason companies want you to download their app is so they can steal your personally identifiable information and then sell it.

    3. Re:Yelp is a protection racket. Extortion by Stan92057 · · Score: 2

      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".

      Please post citations of this very serious claim."Extortion" Im no lawyer but what you said is very close to slander.

      --
      Jack of all trades,master of none
  3. Yelp is obnoxious... by b0s0z0ku · · Score: 4, Insightful

    They don't let you view full review for a business on a mobile browser, instead forcing you to "get the app." There are workarounds, but there's no reason why I should be nudged to get an app to view info that's otherwise freely available on the Web. Unless they like to track "customer" locations of course, and monetize the data.

    1. Re:Yelp is obnoxious... by jetkust · · Score: 3, Interesting

      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.

  4. Yelp wants a free ride on Google's search by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    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.

  5. They stole what we were trying to steal! by holophrastic · · Score: 4, Insightful

    This is just demented. Yelp has been destroying search results for a living. I used to be able to search for a local restaurant, and find the website for said local restaurant. Now, I get to wade through directory-site after directory-site, with the actual local restaurant's web-site way down the list.

    Yelp is upset that google doesn't list them as high? I'm upset that google doesn't list the actual website as high.

    Maybe google should push yelp, and every other directory listing site, to the bottom of the list, under actual businesses.

    Think about it. When was the last time you were searching and actually wanted to find a directory listing? The search results ARE the directory listing. I don't need a listing of listings. I want a listing of results.

    This is why I don't use google. I'm not interested in results of big businesses. I'm not looking for big businesses. I never had any trouble finding big businesses. I'm looking for the needle, not for the haystack.

    Think about this one. Ever search for a television, or other big appliance? Did you need google to suggest best buy, walmart, and a dozen other huge outlets that you know about? No you didn't. You needed google to help you find the small outlets, that don't advertise to you with millions of dollars of marketing budgets.

    Thanks google. You're no better than a subway ad.

    1. Re:They stole what we were trying to steal! by omnichad · · Score: 2

      Think about this one. Ever search for a television, or other big appliance? Did you need google to suggest best buy, walmart, and a dozen other huge outlets that you know about?

      Yes, I did. Or at least, yes it's fine. If all I want are the specs and they post them, that works for me. Many of those sites also have customer reviews. They are relevant results for that reason. What are you hoping to find in your search results when you search a TV or appliance model?

    2. Re:They stole what we were trying to steal! by Zontar+The+Mindless · · Score: 3, Funny

      Can you two please go get a room or something? Geez...

      --
      Il n'y a pas de Planet B.
  6. What? by DarkOx · · Score: 4, Interesting

    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
  7. Forget obnoxious by rsilvergun · · Score: 5, Insightful

    the entire thing has an air of mafiosa about it. They've been caught numerous times selling their services on the basis of "If you know what's good for you". They're upset because if they can't put a bad review at the top of Google's search results they don't have a business model.

    --
    Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
  8. Eliza has a Press Pass by fahrbot-bot · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Are we sure Steve Kroft isn't a reporter bot. His questions sound a lot like Eliza replies:

    • 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.

    ... And how does that make you feel that they will bury you?

    --
    It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
  9. LMGTFY by raymorris · · Score: 2

    http://lmgtfy.com/?q=yelp+prot...

    You'll find there have been at least ten legal proceedings against Yelp for this activity, including a class action suit.

    I do hope they pay you your $10 for posting that here, though.

    No need to try to bother with the "slander" comment. I know they sue journalists and bloggers who mention their business practices. I'm quite immune to suit, though. They are more than welcome to try to sue me. They should be prepared to sue Ken Paxton too, though.