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Google Challenges £7 Billion UK Lawsuit, Seeks Case Dismissal Over Alleged Market Abuse

By  |  September 18, 2024

Google’s parent company, Alphabet, urged a London tribunal on Wednesday to dismiss a mass lawsuit alleging that the tech giant abused its dominance in the online search market. According to Reuters, the lawsuit is valued at up to 7 billion pounds ($9.3 billion), marking yet another significant legal challenge confronting the company.

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    The case is one of several large-scale antitrust actions filed against Google in recent years, both in the UK and abroad. In the U.S., the company is currently embroiled in a high-profile antitrust trial over its online advertising practices. Meanwhile, in Britain, other multibillion-pound cases have been submitted to the Competition Appeal Tribunal, including a separate lawsuit accusing Google of abusing its dominance in the online advertising sector.

    Consumer rights advocate Nikki Stopford, who is representing the class of claimants, contends that Google’s market dominance has allowed it to raise the costs of search advertising for businesses. According to Reuters, these increased costs are ultimately passed down to consumers. Stopford’s lawsuit also draws on a prior European Commission ruling from 2018, in which Google was fined over 4 billion euros ($4.5 billion) for enforcing restrictive practices on Android device manufacturers, a decision that Google is currently appealing.

    Read more: Instant Ad Auctions at the Heart of Google’s Federal Monopoly Case

    Stopford’s legal team further argues that Google entered into an anticompetitive agreement with Apple to ensure its position as the default search engine on the Safari browser in exchange for a share of Google’s mobile search ad revenue. This arrangement, they claim, is part of a broader strategy to solidify Google’s dominance and stifle competition. Lawyers representing the plaintiffs requested that the tribunal certify the lawsuit for trial, a preliminary step that would allow the case to move forward.

    However, Google has strongly disputed the claims. As reported by Reuters, Google’s lawyer, Meredith Pickford, argued that the lawsuit is fundamentally flawed. In court documents, Pickford stated, “The suggestion that consumers have been harmed by the Google conducts at issue is strongly rejected.” He further characterized the European Commission’s findings as “technical complaints about the particular form by which Google promoted its products.”

    Pickford also defended the agreement between Google and Apple, asserting that it was “in principle perfectly lawful.” Google’s legal team is pushing to have the case dismissed, although it remains to be seen whether the court will allow the lawsuit to proceed.

    Source: Reuters