The Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) has allowed a £7bn (around $8.8bn) class action lawsuit to proceed against Google, alleging the tech giant of exploiting its dominant position in the search engine market.
Initially filed in September 2023 by consumer rights campaigner Nikki Stopford, the claim accused Google of using its market dominance to “increase advertising costs,” leading to higher prices for millions of consumers across the UK.
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Additionally, it alleges that Google abused its position by requiring mobile phone manufacturers to use its Android operating system to pre-install Google Search and Chrome apps, and by paying Apple to ensure Google remains the default search engine, even on Apple devices.
The tribunal dismissed Google’s arguments to have the claim struck out and allowed the lawsuit to proceed to trial.
As the class representative, Stopford will represent all UK-domiciled consumers aged 16 years and above who purchased goods or services from businesses using Google’s search advertising services.
Stopford said: “This green light from the tribunal is a significant victory for UK consumers. Almost everybody uses Google as their go-to search engine, trusting it to deliver quality results at no cost. However, its service isn’t genuinely free because its dominance has resulted in increased costs for consumers.
“Google has been warned repeatedly by competition regulators. Yet it continues to rig the market to charge advertisers more, which raises the prices they charge consumers. This action seeks to promote healthier competition in digital markets, and to hold Google accountable and ensure that consumers are compensated for the harm caused by its conduct.”
This decision marks another challenge for Google, following the US Department of Justice’s proposal for the company to sell its Chrome web browser after a judge ruled that it has a monopoly in search.
