Another day, another multi-billion pounder hits Google

Google is facing yet another multi-billion pound legal challenge in the UK, with fresh claims that the tech giant has abused its dominance in online search to stifle competition and inflate the cost of advertising for businesses.

The class action lawsuit, filed at the Competition Appeal Tribunal, alleges that Google unlawfully shut out rival search engines and leveraged its market power to charge British businesses significantly more for digital ads than they would in a competitive market.

Brought by competition law expert Dr Or Brook on behalf of thousands of UK businesses, the claim centres on the tech giant’s alleged manipulation of the search ecosystem – including contracts with Android phone manufacturers and Apple – to cement its control over both search results and the advertising space that surrounds them.

Brook is seeking up to £5bn in compensation.

Google is accused of paying Apple billions to remain the default search engine on iPhones, while simultaneously requiring Android device makers to pre-install Google’s search app and Chrome browser as a condition of using its operating system.

According to the filing, this strategy has eliminated viable alternatives and has forced advertisers to rely almost exclusively on Google’s platform.

Brook explained: “This is about fairness in digital markets. Businesses in the UK have had little choice but to rely on Google Ads to be seen. In doing so, many have paid more than they should have in a truly open and competitive environment. Google has been leveraging its dominance in general search and search advertising to overcharge advertisers, harming businesses and ultimately consumers.

“When a single company controls the gateway to online visibility, fairness becomes more than a principle — it becomes a legal imperative.”

Perhaps unsurprisingly Google has rejected the allegations, calling the case “speculative and opportunistic”.

A spokesperson said: “Consumers and advertisers use Google because it is helpful, not because they have no choice. We will vigorously defend ourselves against this baseless claim.”

The case is in addition to a £13.6bn legal action against Google over alleged anti-competitive practices in online display advertising, which last month cleared another hurdle after the Competition Appeal Tribunal granted a collective proceedings order.

The decision allows UK publishers’ claims, brought by Ad Tech Collective Action LLP, to proceed as a collective action.

The British claim, which is being supported by similar action in the Netherlands, is seeking compensation for lost revenue from the sale of advertising space on the websites of news publishers and any site funded by online ads, nearly 200,000 businesses.

Meanwhile, the Competition & Markets Authority continues its own investigation into Google’s search and advertising practices, which is looking into how Google’s search dominance – accounting for around 90% of all UK Internet searches – affects competition in digital markets.