US judge allows consumer antitrust lawsuit against Google to proceed

Google has failed to convince a US federal court to dismiss a consumer lawsuit alleging that the company illegally protected its dominance in the online search market through exclusive business agreements.

In an order issued on Wednesday, US District Judge Rita Lin said the plaintiffs in the proposed class action had presented sufficient evidence at this stage to proceed with their core claims under federal antitrust law. The lawsuit accuses Google, a unit of Alphabet Inc., of using restrictive agreements with major technology companies to block competition.

The case centres on deals Google struck with mobile phone manufacturers, browser developers and other partners to ensure its search engine is set as the default option across devices and applications. The allegations closely resemble those made by the US Department of Justice in a separate case that resulted in a 2024 ruling that Google held an illegal monopoly in online search.

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While allowing the case to continue, Lin handed Google a partial victory by ruling that the plaintiffs could not pursue claims related to conduct that occurred before 2017. However, she said the consumers may seek to reassert those claims at a later stage.

Google, which has denied any wrongdoing, had asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit in its entirety. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment following the ruling. Lawyers representing the consumers also declined to comment.

According to the plaintiffs, Google effectively locked up the search market by paying Apple, Android device makers, wireless carriers and browser developers to make Google the preselected search engine. They argue that these arrangements prevented rival search engines from gaining scale, reducing competition and limiting consumer choice.

The lawsuit further claims that competition could have led to alternatives offering fewer advertisements, stronger privacy protections or even financial incentives for users. Google has previously argued that such alternatives are unrealistic, disputing claims that competitors could sustainably offer payments to users or significantly enhanced privacy features.

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Judge Lin said the complaint cited examples of smaller search engines that attempted to differentiate themselves through rewards or ad-free models, but plausibly alleged they were unable to compete because Google’s agreements restricted their ability to reach users at scale.

The case is titled James Attridge et al. v. Google and is being heard in the US District Court for the Northern District of California.