A restaurant in Florida is suing Google over its prioritising the ‘order online’ feature ahead of directing customers to visit the physical address.
The restaurant filed the lawsuit on 8 March 2022, but it only made the news after Google provided a statement to CNET. According to the details of the suit, the restaurants were losing money because of the ‘order online’ feature in Google search.
“Google never bothered to obtain permission from the restaurants to sell their products online,” part of the suit reads. “[It] purposefully designed its websites to appear to the user to be offered, sponsored, and approved by the restaurant, when they are not” which amounts to a ‘bait-and-switch.'”
Ordering online became popular during the pandemic lockdown as many people preferred the safety of their homes to walking into restaurants to eat. This system had worked when everyone was social distancing, but now, when many parts of the world have lifted movement restrictions, it no longer serves the needs of food sellers.
Also read:
– Google wins Genius in court case over song lyrics
– How to add moderators to your IG Live stream
– Apple’s A16 chipset are reportedly only coming to iPhone 14 pro versions.
An LA Times article said that delivery apps charge as high as 20% of customers’ money. This is money that restaurants can no longer afford to pay. Left Field Holdings, the restaurant taking the search engine giant to court, feels cheated because its offerings are displayed to customers but not the links to buy directly from them.
However, in its defense, Google said that merchants had the option to indicate if they did not support the ‘Order Online’ feature and opt out of it. Likely, the aggrieved restaurant had not used its freedom of choice, and Google says it will defend itself against what it called ‘the mischaracterizations of [its] product.’
The lawsuit may be the beginning of something bigger because it points out that ‘tens of thousands’ of other restaurants have likely fallen victim to this scheme of diverting customers.
For your daily dose of tech, lifestyle, and trending content, make sure to follow Plat4om on Twitter @Plat4omLive, on Instagram @Plat4om, on LinkedIn at Plat4om, and on Facebook at Plat4om. You can also email us at info@techtalkwithtdafrica.com and join our channel on Telegram at Plat4om. Finally, don’t forget to subscribe to OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL.
