Google is facing a major class action lawsuit in the UK, seeking £5 billion, or about $6.6 billion, in damages. The lawsuit claims that Google has misused its power in the search market to inflate advertising costs.
The case was filed on Wednesday in the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal. It alleges that Google has restricted competition by making it difficult for other search engines to compete. This has led to Google becoming the primary choice for online search advertising. The lawsuit represents hundreds of thousands of UK organizations that have used Google’s advertising services since January 2011.
This legal challenge follows a recent antitrust ruling in the United States, where a federal judge determined that Google has illegally maintained a monopoly in search and text advertising for over a decade.
The UK lawsuit is led by Or Brook, an expert in competition law, and is supported by the law firm Geradin Partners. It outlines several actions taken by Google to limit competition. For instance, Google has made agreements with smartphone manufacturers to pre-install its search engine and Chrome browser on Android devices. Additionally, it reportedly pays Apple billions to ensure that Google is the default search engine on Safari.
A 2020 study by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority found that Google earned 90% of the revenue in the search advertising market. Brook emphasized that UK businesses have little choice but to use Google ads to promote their products, as being visible on Google is crucial for success.
In response to the lawsuit, Google has dismissed it as speculative and opportunistic. A spokesperson stated that users choose Google because it is helpful, not because there are no alternatives.
This lawsuit adds to a growing list of legal challenges facing Google and other major tech companies. In 2018, Google was fined €4.3 billion (around $4.9 billion) by the European Union for abusing its dominance in the mobile operating system market. The company is still appealing that decision.
As this case unfolds, it will be interesting to see how it impacts Google’s operations and the broader tech landscape in the UK and beyond.