Google faces £5bn lawsuit over search advertising

Google said on April 16 it would "vigorously" defend itself against a multi-billion pound lawsuit filed by about 250,000 British businesses accusing them of overcharging for online advertising.

Google said on April 16 that it would "vigorously" defend itself against a multi-billion pound lawsuit filed by about 250,000 British businesses against the US technology giant for allegedly charging too much for online advertising.

In a statement, law firm Geradin Partners said it had filed a £5 billion ($6.6 billion) claim with the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal, arguing that Google "abused its dominant position to exclude competitors from the search and search advertising markets generally."

Geradin also cited findings by regulators around the world describing Google as a “monopoly” or courts in the US and EU finding that Google’s behavior violated competition laws.

For its part, Google rejected Geradin's argument that the lawsuit was "speculative and opportunistic."

According to Google, consumers and advertisers use Google because it is useful, not because there are no alternatives.

This is the latest lawsuit to be brought against Google's search engines since 2011. It is also the first claim of its kind in the UK to seek specific damages against businesses forced to pay high prices for advertising space on Google's sites.

A similar class action lawsuit against Google in the UK was filed in 2023, seeking £7 billion in consumer compensation. In addition, Google is facing a separate claim in the UK for £13.6 billion in damages, alleging anti-competitiveness in digital advertising.

Meanwhile, the UK Competition and Markets Authority is also investigating allegations that Google dominates the search engine market, looking at its impact on consumers and businesses.

The investigation could result in the company being classified as having a "strategic market position" and subject to special requirements under new UK regulations, similar to the European Union's competition law./.

(Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/google-doi-mat-voi-vu-kien-doi-boi-thuong-5-ty-bang-anh-ve-tim-kiem-quang-cao-post1033237.vnp