Google Faces £5 Billion UK Lawsuit For Abusing Market Dominance
Google is facing a major lawsuit in the UK, with potential damages of up to £5 billion ($6.6 billion). The class action, led by competition law expert Or Brook, claims the tech giant abused its “near-total dominance” in online search to shut out rivals and overcharge UK businesses for advertising. The lawsuit argues Google locked in its position by making deals with phone makers to pre-install its apps and paying Apple to be the default search engine, leaving businesses with “almost no choice but to use Google ads.”
Brook’s lawyers say the case is the first of its kind in the UK to seek compensation for businesses hit by inflated ad prices, and accuse Google of making its own ad tools more advanced than competitors to strengthen its monopoly. Google has pushed back, calling the case “yet another speculative and opportunistic” attempt, adding: “Consumers and advertisers use Google because it’s helpful, not because there are no alternatives.”
This legal fight adds to the growing pile of global challenges facing Big Tech over competition concerns. The UK’s antitrust watchdog is already investigating Google’s advertising practices, while across the Atlantic, regulators are also cracking down on the company’s dominance in the search and ad markets.
