UK Lawsuit Alleges Google Abused Market Power to Inflate Search Advertising Costs
Google has been sued in the United Kingdom for allegedly abusing its dominance in the search advertising market, adding to a growing list of global antitrust actions against the tech giant. A £5 billion ($6.6 billion) class action has been filed at the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal, targeting Google’s control over search ads and its pricing mechanisms.
Thousands of UK Advertisers Could Be Impacted
The claim, brought by competition law expert Dr. Or Brook and filed by Geradin Partners, seeks compensation for thousands of British businesses that purchased Google search ads between January 2011 and the present.
According to the lawsuit, Google maintained its dominance through exclusionary practices that forced phone manufacturers and mobile networks to pre-install Google Search and Chrome on Android devices. Additionally, the company is accused of paying billions of pounds to Apple to ensure that Google remains the default search engine in Safari, Apple’s pre-installed browser on all devices.
These tactics, the claim argues, have allowed Google to artificially raise prices for advertising in its search results.
Geradin Partners Alleges Long-Term Harm to Market Competition
“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,” said Damien Geradin, founder of Geradin Partners.
The firm’s press release states that Google’s actions have driven up the cost of advertising, hurting businesses that rely on Google Ads for visibility and customer engagement. It adds that these tactics have prevented meaningful competition in both the general search and search advertising sectors.
Google Responds, Calling the Case “Speculative and Opportunistic”
Google denied any wrongdoing and described the legal action as unfounded.
“We will argue against it vigorously. Consumers and advertisers use Google because it is helpful, not because there are no alternatives,”
said a Google spokesperson.
The company insists that its platform benefits users and advertisers alike, and it plans to challenge the claims in court.
Global Antitrust Pressure Intensifies Against Google
The UK lawsuit adds to Google’s growing list of legal battles. In the United States, the Department of Justice is currently pressing for a breakup of Google’s search business, arguing that the company illegally maintained its monopoly. A separate DOJ case targeting Google’s ad tech operations is also awaiting a ruling.
In August 2024, U.S. Federal Judge Amit Mehta concluded that Google violated antitrust laws by maintaining its search dominance through illegal means. The DOJ and several states have asked the court to force Google to divest its Chrome browser, a proposal the company has labeled “wildly overbroad.”
The European Commission has also accused Google of breaching digital competition rules by prioritizing links to its own services in search results over those of rivals.
As regulatory pressure mounts across jurisdictions, the UK class action adds new weight to concerns about Google’s practices in digital advertising. With billions at stake, the outcome of this lawsuit could have far-reaching consequences for Google’s business model and the broader online ad ecosystem.
