Today: Feb 14, 2025

Tribunal Rules $17 Billion UK Adtech Lawsuit Against Google Can Proceed

8 months ago

Google’s parent company Alphabet  faces a monumental legal challenge as London’s Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) has ruled that a lawsuit, potentially worth up to £13.6 billion ($17.4 billion), alleging the abuse of dominance in the online advertising market, can go ahead.

The lawsuit, initiated by the Ad Tech Collective Action, represents publishers of websites and apps based in the United Kingdom.

These publishers claim they have suffered significant financial losses due to Google’s purportedly anti-competitive practices.

This case is the latest in a series of legal and regulatory challenges targeting the tech giant’s business operations globally.

Google had previously urged the CAT to dismiss the lawsuit, branding it as “incoherent” and vigorously denying the allegations. “Google strongly rejects the underlying allegations,” the company’s lawyers stated in court documents.

However, the CAT, in a written ruling, determined that the case met the necessary threshold to proceed towards a trial, which is not expected to commence until late 2025.

The tribunal highlighted that the bar for certifying a case under the UK’s collective proceedings regime – similar to the class action system in the United States – is relatively low.

Oliver Bethell, Google’s legal director, expressed the company’s discontent with the ruling.

“Google works constructively with publishers across the UK and Europe,” Bethell said in a statement. “This lawsuit is speculative and opportunistic. We’ll oppose it vigorously and on the facts.”

On the other side, Claudio Pollack, a partner at Ad Tech Collective Action, emphasized the significance of the tribunal’s decision.

“This is a decision of major importance to the victims of Google’s anti-competitive conduct in ad tech. Google will now have to answer for its practices in a full trial,” Pollack stated.

The Ad Tech Collective Action lawsuit arrives amidst ongoing investigations by several regulatory bodies into Google’s adtech operations, including probes by Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority and the European Commission.

Google’s legal battles are not confined to the UK; the company is also contending with two major lawsuits in the United States. One of these lawsuits has been brought by the Department of Justice, while the other involves Texas and several other states, all accusing Google of anti-competitive behavior.

Google’s lawyers maintain that the company’s influence in the ad tech industry has been “hugely pro-competitive,” a point they emphasized in the CAT case documents.

Nevertheless, Wednesday’s decision marks another instance where the CAT has allowed significant litigation against a tech behemoth to move forward.

Earlier this year, the tribunal also certified a $3.8 billion case against Meta, the parent company of Facebook.

As the legal proceedings against Google advance, the tech industry and legal experts alike will be closely monitoring the developments.

The outcomes could have far-reaching implications for the regulation and competitive landscape of the online advertising market.

 

Fabrice Iranzi

Journalist and Project Leader at LionHerald, strong passion in tech and new ideas, serving Digital Company Builders in UK and beyond
E-mail: iranzi@lionherald.com

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