Judge Orders Google to Face Consumer Antitrust Lawsuit Over Search | PYMNTS.com

U.S. District Judge Rita F. Lin declined to dismiss the core federal claims in a proposed class action brought by consumers, while trimming part of the case on timing, Reuters reported.

In an order dated Wednesday (Jan. 21), Lin said four consumers plausibly allege that Google unlawfully foreclosed competition in U.S. general search services through exclusive dealing agreements with mobile device manufacturers, device sellers and browser developers.

The complaint relies heavily on findings of fact from the Justice Department’s 2024 search case and describes contracts that preset Google as the default search engine across Apple devices and major Android devices, as well as on Apple’s Safari browser and Mozilla’s Firefox.

According to the court, the…