South Carolina Agency Loses Bid to Shield Information in Ongoing Google Lawsuit

The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday refused a South Carolina state agency’s lawsuit to shield information from Google that the tech giant wants to use to defend against claims that it holds an illegal monopoly over digital advertising. Chief Justice John Roberts rejected an effort by South Carolina’s parks department to block a subpoena from Google that was issued as part of a multi-state antitrust lawsuit brought against the tech giant.

(Image Credit: google)

The order by Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. came in an appeal by South Carolina’s state parks, recreation and tourism department, which said it was immune from Google’s subpoenas and should not immediately be required to comply with them.

Google lawsuit

The state agency and Google did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

In the underlying lawsuit, South Carolina, Texas and 15 other states sued Google for allegedly overcharging for its advertising technology.

Google has sought information from South Carolina and other state agencies to fight the allegations. The Alphabet unit has denied the claims, which are set for a trial in federal court in Texas in March 2025.

Google legal challenges

Google as part of the lawsuit sought records from the South Carolina agency about its use of advertising products, including any “assessment of Google’s products as well as Google’s competitors.”

The parks and recreation agency is not a named plaintiff in the states’ antitrust lawsuit against Google. The agency said in objecting to the subpoenas that it was not an “arm of the state.”

Google said dozens of agencies from other states involved in the antitrust lawsuit complied with the tech company’s demands for information.

Supreme Court ruling for Google

The Richmond-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in June upheld a lower judge’s order that said Google can obtain advertising-related records from the South Carolina agency.

The Supreme Court’s order means the agency must respond to Google’s demands or face being held in contempt.

Parks Department’s appeal for overturn

The South Carolina agency has separately appealed the 4th Circuit’s order, asking the justices to overturn it.

The justices could still decide to take up the South Carolina agency’s case.

The case is South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism v Google, U.S. Supreme Court, Nos. 24A325 and 24-377.

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