Google’s parent company, Alphabet, is seeking to have a £7 billion ($9.3 billion) mass lawsuit dismissed by a London tribunal, which accuses the tech giant of abusing its dominance in the online search market. The case, presented before the UK’s Competition Appeal Tribunal, adds to the mounting legal pressures facing Google, which is also involved in a significant antitrust trial in the United States focused on its online advertising practices.
The lawsuit’s class representative, consumer rights campaigner Nikki Stopford, argues that Google’s market power allows it to inflate costs for businesses relying on its search advertising services, ultimately passing these costs onto consumers. This contention draws on the European Commission’s 2018 decision to impose a €4 billion ($4.5 billion) fine on Google for restricting competition among manufacturers of Android devices, a decision that Google is currently appealing.
Additionally, Stopford’s legal team asserts that Google entered into an anticompetitive agreement with Apple, designating Google as the default search engine on Apple’s Safari browser in exchange for a portion of Google’s mobile search ad revenues. The lawyers have requested the tribunal to certify the case, marking a preliminary step toward a full trial.
In response, Google has characterized the lawsuit as fundamentally flawed. Meredith Pickford, representing Google, stated in court documents, “The suggestion that consumers have been harmed by the Google conducts at issue is strongly rejected.” Pickford further claimed that the findings by the European Commission amounted to “technical complaints” rather than evidence of consumer harm, and described the agreement with Apple as “in principle perfectly lawful.”
Apple has not commented on the proceedings as they unfold. The outcome of this case could have significant implications for Google’s operations in the UK and its broader business practices in the competitive digital landscape.
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