Google filed for a court order this week, asking for the production of papers from Luther Lowe, a longtime critic of the company, as part of its continuing federal antitrust litigation. It is believed that discussions between Google and Yelp, Lowe’s employer, have come to a halt as a result of the petition.
We obtained a copy of the request for you here.
Yelp has agreed to document production from its staff but has refused with regard to Lowe in particular, prompting Google to seek a subpoena from the court to compel the release of email records and other materials.
Lowe has long been a vocal proponent of antitrust action against Google.
Lowe has made public statements focusing on Google’s search neutrality argument, claiming that the tech giant leverages the strength of Google Search to dominate directories such as Yelp.
Much of the antitrust filing is redacted and it reads that, “Yelp’s allegations against Google, conceived and advanced by Mr Lowe, are a central part of the government’s case. Now that the very governmental action Yelp advocated for in its communications is underway, Yelp cannot deny Google the documents it needs to defend itself.”
