Google is facing a £5 billion class action lawsuit in the UK over allegations that it is abusing its dominant market position in online search.
The lawsuit alleges that Google abused its market dominance to charger higher prices for advertisements that appear on its search engine than it could have if competition was more substantial.
The lawsuit also claims that Google provided better functionality and features to its own advertisement offers than it provided to competitors, giving it even more advantage.
It also cites that Google has entered contracts and partnerships with device and systems manufacturers, like Apple, to ensure that Google Search and its Chrome browser are pre-installed across devices, again providing it with an advantage due to its market dominance and consequential wealth.
The claim is being filed by Or Brook, a competition law expert supporting thousands of businesses in the case.
“We will argue against it vigorously,” a Google spokesperson said. “Consumers and advertisers use Google because it is helpful, not because there are no alternatives.”
Google classified the case as “speculative and opportunistic,” though previous competition inquiries into the company may provide the case with substantial backing.
Brook said that “regulators around the world have described Google as a monopoly.”
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The Competitions and Markets Authority has investigated Google in the past over its search dominance, launching an inquiry in January.
The CMA noted the company’s ubiquitous standing, citing that Google accounts for 90% of searches, and is used by over 200,000 UK businesses for advertisement.
In the US, Google is undergoing two major antitrust trials from the Department of Justice, targeting its dominance in search and adtech. The UK class action may come at an opportunistic time, but it does reflect growing issues with Alphabet’s – Google’s parent company – dominance across search and online ads.





