Google must face £7B UK class action over search engine dominance

Ad slinger alleged to have abused position, resulting in higher prices for consumers

Google must face a £7 billion ($8.8 billion) claim in the UK over allegations it abused its search engine dominance, a tribunal has ruled.

The complaint centers around Google shutting out competition for mobile search, resulting in higher prices for advertisers, which were allegedly passed on to consumers. According to consumer rights campaigner Nikki Stopford, who is bringing the claim on behalf of UK consumers, Android device makers that wanted access to Google's Play Store had to accept its search service. The ad slinger also paid Apple billions to have Google Search as the default for the Safari browser in iOS.

The UK's Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) granted permission for the claim to proceed earlier this week, after Google, among other things, protested that the allegations of abuse in relation to the iOS were "so weak that they ought to be struck out."

Stopford is leading the collective proceedings (basically a UK style class action case under the Consumer Rights Act 2015) against Google. She told The Register that the £7 billion ($8.8 billion) figure was a "conservative estimate" and could result in affected UK consumers receiving almost £100 ($125) each. The claim was brought on an opt-out basis.

Stopford emphasized that while having a dominant position in the market was not against the law, companies should not abuse that position. "Google," she claimed, "has abused its dominance in search, essentially, and it's done that through a number of commercial contracts that it has with Android [device] manufacturers and Apple to make it the default search engine.

"What that then means is advertisers who want to advertise their products and services are left with little option but to advertise on Google, because most of our searches start there."

According to Stopford, Google used its position to up prices paid by advertisers, resulting in higher costs to consumers. "What we're trying to achieve with this claim is essentially compensate consumers," she said.

If this all sounds a little familiar, it should. The US Department of Justice recently filed a proposal that would regulate Google's activities in the search market and force it to divest itself of the Chrome browser. Google is due to file its response in the coming weeks.

Stopford acknowledged the legal and regulatory actions being taken against Google in the US and elsewhere, but said: "Whilst all of that regulator enforcement is great, and is challenging Google, and is trying to ensure that it behaves in a fair way, what it doesn't do is compensate people who have lost out … the people that have spent more because of Google's actions.

"And that's really the point of difference in terms of what we're trying to do with this claim."

Stopford told us the trial was unlikely to kick off before 2027 and noted there remained substantial work to gather evidence. Stopford also paid tribute to the Collective Action capability in UK consumer law.

"It's a powerful tool in terms of addressing often dominant abuses of behavior," she said.

This claim focuses on Google, yet other big tech companies such as Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft are also under scrutiny by regulators and lawmakers worldwide.

A Google spokesperson told The Reg: "We still believe this case is speculative and opportunistic - we will argue against it vigorously. People use Google because it is helpful; not because there are no alternatives." ®

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