Google faces £13.6bn advertising lawsuit in UK

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UK (Commonwealth) _ The London-based Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) rendered a decision requiring Alphabet Inc., the parent company of Google, to pay £13.6 billion (~$17 billion) in damages.

According to the lawsuit, Google engaged in anticompetitive behavior throughout the United Kingdom by taking advantage of its market dominance in internet advertising. The complaint claims that publishers that depend on internet advertising for their income have suffered severe financial losses as a result of Google’s monopolistic actions.

These publishers contend that their income has decreased and competition has been hampered by Google’s monopoly on the advertising business. Compensation for the claimed damages brought about by Google’s actions is sought in the lawsuit.

Google made an attempt to have the case dismissed in May, and their legal staff vehemently refuted the allegations. They said there was no validity to the action and that it should be dismissed. However, the plaintiffs’ claims will be thoroughly investigated in court as a result of the CAT’s decision to certify the case for trial.

With its decision, the CAT has taken a major step forward in a legal dispute that might have far-reaching effects for Google and the internet advertising sector as a whole. The tribunal has made it possible for a detailed investigation of Google’s business methods in the UK market by permitting the case to go forward.


If the plaintiffs are successful, it may have a significant impact on the rules and practices around internet advertising. The lawsuit brings to light long-standing worries about possible harm to competition and market fairness as well as the concentration of market power in the hands of a small number of computer firms.

The case will now proceed to trial, where a thorough presentation of the facts and arguments will take place. The verdict may influence how antitrust rules are applied to digital marketplaces and provide a precedent for other cases of a similar nature throughout the world.

A group of publishers filed the case in an effort to recover damages they believe Google’s unfair competition. The plaintiffs contend that their capacity to compete has been unjustly restricted by Google’s dominance in the ad business, causing them to suffer significant financial harm.

Possible consequences for Google

Alphabet Inc. faces serious risks, both financial and reputational, in the face of a trial of this scale.

If Google is found to have violated the law, it may face severe penalties and be forced to change the way it does business in the UK and possibly other countries. This lawsuit is a part of a larger trend of heightened legal scrutiny of the marketing strategies used by large digital businesses.

In an effort to maintain fair competition and safeguard the interests of consumers, regulators and judges across the globe are looking more closely at the impact and control that tech companies have over different digital industries.

The lawsuit is the most recent to center on the business practices of the search engine giant. It is a claim for damages on behalf of publishers of UK-based websites and applications. Ad Tech Collective Action is pursuing the lawsuit on behalf of publishers who contend that Google’s purportedly anti-competitive actions have caused them to lose money.

Google requested last month that the CAT dismiss the lawsuit on the grounds that it was nonsensical. According to legal filings, the corporation “strongly rejects the underlying allegations.” In a written decision, the CAT stated that it will authorize the matter to move on with a trial, albeit one is unlikely to happen before the end of 2025.

The panel also emphasized how easy it is to certify a case under the UK’s collective procedures system, which is essentially the same as the class action system in the US. Company, notably by the European Commission and the Competition and Markets Authority of the United Kingdom.

Additionally, Google is defending itself against two cases in the US that allege anti-competitive behavior on the part of the Department of Justice and Texas, among other places. On court records related to the CAT case, Google’s legal team stated that the company’s “impact in the ad tech industry has been hugely pro-competitive”. The CAT has already authorized two cases this year, one for roughly $1 billion against Apple (AAPL.O) and the other worth $3.8 billion against Facebook parent Meta (META.O). Wednesday’s judgment is the most recent against a digital giant to receive approval.

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