Google Faces £13.6 Billion Lawsuit Over Alleged Adtech Market Dominance

Google is set to face a £13.6 billion lawsuit after a court ruled that it must answer allegations of anti-competitive behaviour in the online advertising market. The case, initiated by Ad Tech Collective Action LLP, claims that Google’s practices have unfairly disadvantaged online publishers in the UK, leading to significant financial losses.

The Competition Appeal Tribunal in London rejected Google’s attempt to dismiss the lawsuit, allowing the case to proceed to trial. Claudio Pollack, a former Ofcom director and partner at Ad Tech Collective Action, emphasized the importance of the decision for those affected by Google’s alleged anti-competitive actions in adtech. “Google will now have to answer for its practices in a full trial,” Pollack stated.

Google’s parent company, Alphabet, has dismissed the lawsuit as “incoherent.” Oliver Bethell, Google’s legal director, described the case as “speculative and opportunistic,” vowing to vigorously contest the allegations.

The lawsuit centres on Google’s dominance in the adtech industry, which involves technology that determines which online advertisements people see and the costs associated with them. This sector is crucial for many websites, with digital advertising spend reaching $490 billion in 2021. Ad Tech Collective Action alleges that Google has abused its market dominance, engaging in “self-preferencing” by promoting its own products and services over those of competitors. This practice, they argue, has led to lower revenues for publishers and excessively high fees paid to Google.

Pollack expressed his commitment to securing compensation for the affected UK publishers, stating, “I look forward to working with our legal and economic advisers to deliver compensation for years during which the relevant markets did not provide a competitive outcome for the UK publishing market.”

The lawsuit, filed as an opt-out case, automatically includes all relevant UK publishers unless they choose to exclude themselves. It is backed by an undisclosed third-party funder, ensuring that participating UK publishers will not bear any legal costs.

This legal challenge comes amid a broader scrutiny of Google’s adtech practices by regulators in the UK, Europe, and the US. Google has already faced substantial fines from the European Commission for anti-competitive behavior, highlighting the global concerns over its market conduct.

The case has taken 18 months to reach this stage, and no trial date has been set, indicating that it will be some time before a resolution is reached.