Competition boffin launches class action against Google UK over search dominance
(2025/04/17)
- Reference: 1744878554
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2025/04/17/google_faces_uk_class_action/
- Source link:
A British academic has launched a class-action suit against Google, alleging abuse of its market dominance in online search caused £5 billion ($6.6 billion) of damage to advertisers.
Leeds University’s Associate Professor of Competition Law and Policy Dr Or Brook, who also serves as Deputy Director of the Centre for Business Law and Practice, brought the case on behalf of hundreds of thousands of UK-based organizations that use Google’s search advertising services.
She is represented by the competition law firm Geradin Partners, whose Founding Partner Damien Geradin said: “Google is one of the most powerful companies in the world. However, 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.”
[1]
The suit accuses Google of requiring makers of Android devices to install the Chrome browser and a Google Search widget. It also claims Google pays Apple billions to have its search engine installed as the default in Apple’s Safari browser, which is pre-installed on iPhones.
[2]
[3]
Dr Or Brook said: "UK businesses and organisations have almost no choice but to use Google ads to advertise their products and services. Regulators around the world have described Google as a monopoly and securing a spot on Google’s top pages is essential for visibility. Google has been leveraging its dominance in the general search and search advertising market to overcharge advertisers.
“This class action is about holding Google accountable for its unlawful practices and seeking compensation on behalf of UK advertisers who have been overcharged.”
[4]
The case has been launched in the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT).
A Google spokesperson said: “This is yet another speculative and opportunistic case - and we will argue against it vigorously. Consumers and advertisers use Google because it helpful, not because there are no alternatives”
[5]Japan serves Google a cease and desist order over its Android bundling deals
[6]EU says Google scroogles app makers, also gives Apple an antitrust must-do-list
[7]Google's Chrome divorce still on the cards as Trump's DoJ plays hardball
[8]Alphabet achieves first $100B annual profit ... and sees its shares sink
The case follows the January launch of an [9]investigation into Google’s market power by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).
At the time that probe commenced, a Google spokesperson said the company would “continue to engage constructively with the CMA to ensure that new rules benefit all types of websites and still allow people in the UK to benefit from helpful and cutting-edge services."
The issues under consideration in the case have already been litigated in other nations, most recently Japan which this week [10]ordered Google to end its practice of requiring Droid-makers to bundle its apps and services. ®
Get our [11]Tech Resources
[1] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2aADRSsSfJO5OfN3j-xWoEQAAAJY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
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[5] https://www.theregister.com/2025/04/16/japan_google_monopoly_ruling/
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2025/03/19/google_apple_dma_eu/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2025/03/10/trump_doj_google_chrome/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2025/02/05/alphabet_q4_fy2024/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2025/01/14/cma_google_search_investigation/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2025/04/16/japan_google_monopoly_ruling/
[11] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Leeds University’s Associate Professor of Competition Law and Policy Dr Or Brook, who also serves as Deputy Director of the Centre for Business Law and Practice, brought the case on behalf of hundreds of thousands of UK-based organizations that use Google’s search advertising services.
She is represented by the competition law firm Geradin Partners, whose Founding Partner Damien Geradin said: “Google is one of the most powerful companies in the world. However, 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.”
[1]
The suit accuses Google of requiring makers of Android devices to install the Chrome browser and a Google Search widget. It also claims Google pays Apple billions to have its search engine installed as the default in Apple’s Safari browser, which is pre-installed on iPhones.
[2]
[3]
Dr Or Brook said: "UK businesses and organisations have almost no choice but to use Google ads to advertise their products and services. Regulators around the world have described Google as a monopoly and securing a spot on Google’s top pages is essential for visibility. Google has been leveraging its dominance in the general search and search advertising market to overcharge advertisers.
“This class action is about holding Google accountable for its unlawful practices and seeking compensation on behalf of UK advertisers who have been overcharged.”
[4]
The case has been launched in the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT).
A Google spokesperson said: “This is yet another speculative and opportunistic case - and we will argue against it vigorously. Consumers and advertisers use Google because it helpful, not because there are no alternatives”
[5]Japan serves Google a cease and desist order over its Android bundling deals
[6]EU says Google scroogles app makers, also gives Apple an antitrust must-do-list
[7]Google's Chrome divorce still on the cards as Trump's DoJ plays hardball
[8]Alphabet achieves first $100B annual profit ... and sees its shares sink
The case follows the January launch of an [9]investigation into Google’s market power by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).
At the time that probe commenced, a Google spokesperson said the company would “continue to engage constructively with the CMA to ensure that new rules benefit all types of websites and still allow people in the UK to benefit from helpful and cutting-edge services."
The issues under consideration in the case have already been litigated in other nations, most recently Japan which this week [10]ordered Google to end its practice of requiring Droid-makers to bundle its apps and services. ®
Get our [11]Tech Resources
[1] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2aADRSsSfJO5OfN3j-xWoEQAAAJY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aADRSsSfJO5OfN3j-xWoEQAAAJY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aADRSsSfJO5OfN3j-xWoEQAAAJY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aADRSsSfJO5OfN3j-xWoEQAAAJY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2025/04/16/japan_google_monopoly_ruling/
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2025/03/19/google_apple_dma_eu/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2025/03/10/trump_doj_google_chrome/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2025/02/05/alphabet_q4_fy2024/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2025/01/14/cma_google_search_investigation/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2025/04/16/japan_google_monopoly_ruling/
[11] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Oh Matron!
YouTube. Owned by......
You still get an upvote, though
I truly don't understand why anyone pays to place an ad anywhere on the web
But that doesn't mean to say that Google's sh1tnannigans aren't predatory, anti competitive, etc, etc
Dinanziame
I truly don't understand why anyone pays to place an ad anywhere on the web
Well because it works. Not for everybody, not all the time, but sometimes it works really well. How do you think Temu became such a well-known brand?
To Advertisers??
cyberdemon
> alleging abuse of its market dominance in online search caused £5 billion ($6.6 billion) of damage to advertisers.
Sod the advertisers, how about the harm done to everyone by the willful enshittification of Internet Search?
"UK businesses and organisations have almost no choice but to use Google ads to advertise their products and services."
.. and most of those ads are ignored at best, and at worst someone is irritated by an intrusive ad & vows to have no dealings with that business ever again.
If your business targets a well defined area & you feel you must advertise online may well be better having an "advertorial" article on a popular web site / YT channel or whatever related to that area (e.g. El Reg has some advertorial pages - e.g. under "Vendor Voice" some of which I have actually found interesting & relevant to work)