March 25 (Reuters) - Alphabet's Google

convinced a federal judge in San Francisco to dismiss part of a

lawsuit that accused the tech giant of misleading investors

about its digital advertising practices and user privacy

protections.

In a ruling on Monday, U.S. District Judge Rita Lin said the

shareholders in their proposed class action did not adequately

support their claim Google made false statements on its website

about its practices.

Lin said the plaintiffs could move ahead with their claim

that a 2020 written statement that Alphabet chief executive

officer Sundar Pichai made to Congress was false.

The shareholders, who sued Google in 2023, contend Google

had rigged online advertising to favor bids from Google-owned

platforms or through a network agreement that Meta's

Facebook had with Google.

The lawsuit alleged Google committed securities fraud

through public statements that characterized the ad market and

its auction-based system for selling ads as highly competitive.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs did not immediately respond to a

request for comment.

Google in a statement on Tuesday said it "runs a fair

first-price auction, no matter where the bid comes from." The

company has denied any wrongdoing.

Monday's order said the investors had not proven Google

acted with the necessary "state of mind" in some statements.

Lin said a company does not commit securities fraud "every

time there is a significant error somewhere on its website that

is inconsistent with facts known to the CEO."

"Under plaintiffs' theory, Pichai's role as CEO makes him

the de facto 'maker' of every single statement on Google's

website. This is not the law," Lin wrote.

Google is defending against other lawsuits challenging its

digital advertising practices.

A U.S. judge in Virginia presided over a trial last year in

a case brought by the U.S. Department of Justice and a group of

states, but has not yet ruled. Google has denied the

allegations.

The case is AMI - Government Employees Provident Fund

Management Company v. Alphabet Inc. ( GOOG ) et al, U.S. District Court,

Northern District of California, No. 3:23-CV-01186-RFL.

For plaintiffs: Jeremy Lieberman and Emma Gilmore of

Pomerantz

For defendants: Boris Feldman and Doru Gavril of Freshfields

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