UK Tribunal Rejects Google Bid to Block $6.7 Billion Advertiser Class Action

The United Kingdom’s Competition Appeal Tribunal rejected Google’s bid to block a class action lawsuit brought by advertisers alleging that the company abused its position in mobile operating systems, app distribution, search and search advertising to overcharge advertisers and exclude competitors.

In its Wednesday (Aug. 5) judgment allowing the case to proceed, the Competition Appeal Tribunal said that Google objected to the class representative’s funding arrangements and level of costs, amendments the class representative wanted to make to its claim form, the class representative’s class definition, and whether the proceedings should be certified on an opt-in or opt-out basis, according to a summary posted by the court.

The tribunal concluded that the certification should be on an opt-out basis, that the class representative’s level of costs was not a bar to certification, and that other matters, including the class definition, could be resolved later, according to the summary.

“The proceedings were therefore certified on an opt-out basis,” the Competition Appeal Tribunal said in the summary.

Reached by PYMNTS, a Google spokesperson said in an emailed statement: “This is a speculative and opportunistic case — and we will argue against it vigorously. Consumers and advertisers use Google because it is helpful, not because there are no alternatives.”

Bloomberg reported Wednesday that the class action lawsuit was filed on behalf of about 880,000 British firms and seeks as much as 5 billion pounds (about $6.7 billion) in damages.

It was reported in April 2025 that the claim accuses Google of implementing anti-competitive practices that restricted market access for rival search engines and ad providers.

The case argues that Google struck deals with mobile phone manufacturers to have its Search app and Chrome browser pre-installed on Android devices. It also charged that Google paid Apple to make Google the default search engine on iPhones and that these steps effectively limited customer choice and kept competitors at bay.

The claim alleges that these arrangements enabled Google to maintain its market dominance and charge businesses inflated prices for search advertisements.

At the time of the April 2025 filing of the case, Google dismissed the case as meritless.