Google is facing a new class action lawsuit that has been filed today for anti-competitive digital advertising practices on the behalf of all UK consumers.

The lawsuit, which claims Google abused its market dominance to make more profit during the cost-of-living crisis, could result in nearly everyone in the UK receiving a share of the £7.3 billion the lawsuit is after.

Consumer rights group Consumer Voice is leading the lawsuit, which alleges that Google has stifled search engine competition by making itself the default search engine on nearly all mobile phones in the UK.

According to claimants, this increased the prices for advertisers promoting their products and pages on Google, which ultimately passed costs onto consumers.

“Almost everybody uses Google as their go-to search engine, often trusting the company to help them find the best products and services at reasonable prices,” Nikki Stopford, the co-founder of Consumer Voice and leader of the claim said.

“Unfortunately, Google’s dominance of the search market has actually raised those prices for consumers. Despite judgments at the highest levels in Europe and complaints in the US, Google continues to rig the search market so that it can charge advertisers more.”

The lawsuit claims that Google’s popularity as a search engine is not out of fair market competition, but by unfair market practices which forced the search engine onto people’s mobile devices.

The claim stipulates that Google forced smartphone manufacturers to pre-install the Google Search and Google Chrome mobile apps as a condition of using Google’s Android operating system, and to gain a licence for Google Play, the company’s mobile app store.

Further, the lawsuit claims that Google’s payment of £1.2bn to Apple to ensure it was the default search engine on the company’s default browser, Safari, was unlawful.

Consumer Voice is not the only ones who have noted the potential anti-competitive nature of the deal – in 2020 the Competition and Markets Authority completed a market study into digital advertising, saying the Apple-Google deal created a “significant barrier” to other search engines entering the market.

Further, the US Department of Justice also found that the deal squashed competition for search engines on iOS devices.

The EU even fined Google £3.6bn in 2022 for anti-competitive behaviours for forcing android phone manufacturers to pre-install Google Search and Chrome as a condition of using Google Play.

“It’s a clear breach of competition law, for which consumers are paying the price,” Stopford argued.

“Google has been warned about its behaviour by competition regulators repeatedly but has taken no meaningful action to stop the abuse. This action aims to make the company accountable for its repeated lawbreaking and get consumers back the money they’re owed.”

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The Consumer Voice claimants will be represented by the law firm Hausfield & CCo. LLP and will be filed at the Competition Appeal Tribunal, a specialist competition court.

“Google provides a great service, but it isn’t free,” Luke Streatfield, a partner at Haustfeld leading the lawsuit, said.

“This claim says that Google has choked off competition in search engines for years, to the detriment of the businesses that use its services – and, ultimately, consumers. The lack of competition leads to higher prices and poorer quality, and the effects of this are felt throughout the UK economy.”

Using it’s market dominance, the lawsuit claims that Google can force advertisers to pay a premium to top search results for products and services, with top billing going to the highest bidder. This would ultimately raise prices for advertisers to compete, which raises consumer costs.

“This case is speculative and opportunistic – we will argue against it vigorously,” a Google spokesperson said, as reported by The Guardian. “People use Google because it is helpful. We only make money if ads are useful and relevant, as indicated by clicks – at a price that is set by a real-time auction.

“Advertising plays a crucial role in helping people discover new businesses, new causes and new products.”