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US Supreme Court Declines to Hear Appeal in Google Antitrust Records Dispute

By  |  November 21, 2024

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to take up an appeal in a significant antitrust case involving Google, effectively upholding a lower court ruling that a South Carolina state agency must comply with Google’s request for records. This decision marks another chapter in the broader legal battle where Google faces allegations from 17 states of maintaining an illegal monopoly in digital advertising, according to Reuters.

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    At the heart of the dispute is a subpoena issued by Google to South Carolina’s Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism. Google sought records detailing how the agency rated and utilized its advertising services, as South Carolina is among the states suing the tech giant. However, the parks agency resisted, arguing that it was not a formal “arm of the state” and therefore not obligated to comply with the request.

    This argument was rejected in June by the Richmond-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which affirmed a lower court’s decision requiring the agency to provide the requested documents. Google successfully convinced the court to dismiss the immunity claims, a stance that South Carolina officials had contended raised critical questions about the independence of individual state agencies from the actions of state attorneys general.

    Read more: Google Allegedly Encouraged Evidence Destruction to Dodge Antitrust Scrutiny: Report

    Despite the agency’s efforts to bring the matter before the Supreme Court, the justices declined to hear the case without offering any explanation, as is typical when denying review. Both Google and the South Carolina agency have yet to comment on the Court’s decision.

    Google, which has denied allegations of monopolistic practices, has emphasized that dozens of state agencies involved in the broader antitrust litigation complied with its similar demands for information.

    The case, titled South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism v. Google, U.S. Supreme Court, No. 24-377, underscores ongoing tensions in the legal battle over Google’s role and practices in the digital advertising market.

    Source: Reuters