Focus on the Evidence: A Brief Rebuttal of Wu, Luca, et al

19 Pages Posted: 21 Aug 2016

See all articles by Miguel de la Mano

Miguel de la Mano

Compass Lexecon

Stephen Lewis

RBB Economics

Andrew Leyden

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP

Date Written: August 17, 2016

Abstract

Yelp and other members of its “Focus on the User – Local” interest group commissioned a paper by Tim Wu, Michael Luca, and others (the “FOTUL Paper”). This paper ostensibly provides empirical data to show that Google is “degrading its own search results” for some queries by displaying a local results box containing Google’s own local results – rather than results taken from other local search services, such as Yelp. We examined the FOTUL Paper and its associated evidence, and conclude that its claims are not tenable. In particular, the FOTUL Paper’s testing methodology is invalid and does not support any of its claims.

Keywords: Google, Wu, Focus on the User, FOTUL, Search, Local Search, Yelp, TripAdvisor, Antitrust, Competition, EU, EU Commission

Suggested Citation

de la Mano, Miguel and Lewis, Stephen and Leyden, Andrew, Focus on the Evidence: A Brief Rebuttal of Wu, Luca, et al (August 17, 2016). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2825006 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2825006

Miguel De la Mano

Compass Lexecon ( email )

23 Square de Meeus
Bruxelles, 1000
Belgium

Stephen Lewis

RBB Economics ( email )

London WC1V 7BD
United Kingdom

Andrew Leyden (Contact Author)

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP ( email )

Rue de la loi 57
Brussels, 1040
Belgium

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