An academic study from Harvard and Columbia universities — and funded by Google competitor Yelp — found that Google discriminates against competitors in its search results.
The study showed that Google favors search results that direct users to Google content over results that point to competitors such as Yelp and Orbitz, according to one of the lead researchers, Tim Wu.
"What the data shows, is in the interest of anti-competitive behavior, maybe they're hurting consumers along the way," Wu said. "It puts the grist in the mill for an antitrust enforcer."
Google did not respond to a request for comment, but a spokesperson said in an April blog post that rival businesses appeared to be thriving, writing "people have more choice than ever before.