UK class action sets stage for Google showdown
Another class action has been filed against search engine giant Google for anti-competitive practices that negatively affect small businesses
UK based legal professor Or Brook has filed a class action against Google worth approximately £5bn in the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT). The class action, brought on behalf of hundreds of thousands of UK-based organisations that used Google’s search advertising services, accuses Google of abusing its near-total dominance in the general search market to drive up prices.
This latest class action follows on from one filed by Nikki Stopford, co-founder of Consumer Voice, and legal firm Hausfeld & Co LLP, and appears to focus on the Google’s anti-competitiveness.
Stopford’s case looks at the cost to consumers due to increased advertising costs businesses that use Google Search pay as a result of anti-competitive practices. In November last year, Google’s attempt to throw out Stopford’s case was dismissed, paving the way for the case to be heard at the CAT.
Along with Stopford’s case, in January, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) began an investigation seeking to determine if Google has strategic market status in search and search advertising activities, and whether these services are delivering good outcomes for people and businesses in the UK.
The Brook case appears to be looking specifically at the cost to business arising from Google business practices that stipulate its Chrome browser and search engine are configured as the default options on Android devices and Google’s payments to Apple to ensure Google search is default on the Safari browser.
The class action also covers Google’s Search Engine Management Platform (SA360). Brook alleges that this offers better functionality and more features regarding Google’s own advertising offering than that of its competitors.
Damien Geradin, founding partner of Geradin Partners, the legal firm representing Brook, said: “This is the first claim of its kind in the UK that seeks redress for the harm caused specifically to businesses who have been forced to pay inflated prices for advertising space on Google pages.”
In the claim, Brook argues that Google has been shutting out competition in the general search and search advertising markets.
The claim argues that Google’s conduct has prevented competitors in the general search market from distributing their own search engines, which has enabled Google to maintain its dominance, leading to restricted competition in general search. Brook contests that Google has ensured that its own search platform is the only viable means of advertising to the vast majority of consumers, and ensured its dominance in search advertising.
She said: “Today, UK businesses and organisations, big or small, 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.”
On top of the class actions, Google is also being investigated by the CMA, which is looking at whether its Play Store requires app developers to sign up to unfair terms and conditions as a condition of distributing their apps.
