Google facing £5 bn UK lawsuit over ad searches: firms

A Google spokesperson described the CAT filing as “yet another speculative and opportunistic case”.

“We will argue against it vigorously. Consumers and advertisers use Google because it helpful, not because there are no alternatives,” they added.

The latest case relates to searches carried out via Google since 2011.

“Through a range of deliberate and exclusionary practices, it has sought to eliminate its rivals and dominate the search advertising market, ultimately overcharging UK advertisers by billions of pounds,” the founding partner of Geradin, Damien Geradin, said in a statement.

“This is the first claim of its kind in the UK that seeks redress for the harm caused specifically to businesses who have been forced to pay inflated prices for advertising space on Google pages.”

A similar UK class action was filed against Google in 2023, this time seeking compensation of £7 billion to be shared among consumers, with businesses seen as passing on costs.

Last year, a £13.6-billion claim against Google was filed for alleged anti-competitiveness in digital advertising.

Both cases are ongoing.

Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority is also investigating Google’s alleged dominance in the search-engine market, looking at its impact for consumers and businesses.

The investigation could lead to the company being handed “strategic market status”, subjecting it to special requirements under new UK regulations.

A similar tech competition law from the European Union, the Digital Markets Act, carries hefty financial penalities for giants like Apple, Google and Meta in the event of infringements.

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© Agence France-Presse