Entrance to Google’s UK office in London.
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London – Google The US tech giant has been sued for more than £5 billion ($6.6 billion) in potential UK damages against allegations that it abused “nearly consistent control” in the online search market to raise prices.
A class action lawsuit filed Wednesday in the UK Court of Competition Appeals abusing Google’s position to restrict competing search engines, thus strengthening its dominant position in the market, claiming it would itself be the sole viable destination for online search ads.
From January 1, 2011 until the request was filed, it was brought to you by the Faculty of Competition Law Academic or Brook, on behalf of hundreds of thousands of UK-based organizations using Google’s search advertising services. She is represented by law firm Geradin Partners.
“Today, businesses and organizations in the UK, big or small, have little choice but to use Google Ads to promote their products and services,” Brook said in a statement Tuesday. “Regulators around the world have described Google as a monopoly, and securing a spot on Google’s homepage is essential for visibility.
“Google is taking advantage of its advantage in the general search and search advertisers to overcharge,” she added. “This class action lawsuit puts Google liability for illegal practices and seeks compensation on behalf of overcharged UK advertisers.”
When contacted by CNBC, Google could not immediately comment.
A 2020 market study by the UK’s competitive regulator, Competitive Markets Agency (CMA), found that 90% of all revenue in the search advertising market is acquired by Google.
The lawsuit alleges that Google is taking several steps to limit competition during searches. This will preinstall Google Search on Smartphone Makers and Android devices, and ensure that Google is the default search engine for Safari browsers, including Chrome pays for Apple billions.
Google also claims that its search management tool Search Ads 360 offers better features and more features than its competitors, with unique advertising products.
Big technology that is ignited
This is the latest legal challenge for the American tech giant. Large US tech companies from Google to Meta have been hit by numerous lawsuits, regulatory investigations and fines for concerns surrounding their pure power and influence.
In 2018, Google was fined 4.3 billion euros ($4.9 billion) by the European Union for abused the advantages of the Android mobile operating system by preinstalling Chrome and searching in the Play App Store bundle. Seven years later, Google is still suing an anti-trust penalty.
The antitrust lawsuit filed by the Federal Trade Commission against Meta this week has officially entered court. A landmark trial that could ultimately force the social media giant to sell its Instagram and WhatsApp platforms.
In January, the UK CMA raised concerns about competitive issues in the cloud computing market and recommended investigations. Amazon and Microsoft Under the groundbreaking competition law known as digital markets, competition and consumer law.
It accused Microsoft of unfairly overcharging customers from rival cloud companies after a class action lawsuit filed in December 2024. Competition attorney Maria Luisa Stasi, the claimant in the case, is seeking more than £1 billion in compensation for the affected companies.
