They believed that the company’s search engine could not be deemed a public utility just because of the popularity of the company’s search engine. To recognize Google search as a utility like Ohio does is to announce that this is a company that Ohio can acquire, build, own, or operate. But this is ridiculous.
Google said in the document, Ohio does not This may be done for many reasons. One important reason is that it has no right to decide what information people see online according to its own wishes.
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost sued Google in June this year, claiming that the company’s search function should be subject to the same supervision as utility companies such as water, electricity, and transportation.
Google said on Friday, According to the law, the state’s requirements are like people in certain towns who like to get news from Fox News and the New York Times like to go shopping at Walmart and declare these companies like utility companies.
Yost once said that when the company gave preferential treatment to its Google Flights and other products in its organic search results, there were behaviors that hindered competition. The lawsuit argues that Google should treat competitors’ products equally. Google said that this result should be protected by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution because it is an editorial decision.
The state cannot interfere with protected expressions, let alone control what Google must or must not include in search pages, Google said.
Google’s defense also contains some technical content. The mechanism by which Google search appears on computers in Ohio is an important factor. According to Ohio law, Google is not a public carrier, partly because it does not actually transport anyone or anything. Internet service providers are only transmitting data.
Google search does not ship bulk commodities, but constantly provides useful information based on people’s unique needs. Google said.
