Class action argues US tech firm charged more for advertising on its preinstalled apps than it could in fair market
Google is being sued in the UK for up to £5bn in damages over allegations it shut out rivals in the internet search market and abused this dominance to overcharge businesses for advertisements.
A class action filed at the competition appeal tribunal on Tuesday argues that the US technology company has taken actions that enable it to charge higher prices for the promotions that appear in search inquiries than it otherwise could in a fair market.
It alleged that Google, which is owned by the US tech company Alphabet, contracted phone makers to preinstall the Google search app and Chrome browser on Android devices and paid Apple to make it the default search engine on iPhones, with the intention of shutting out competition.
The claim is filed by the competition law expert Or Brook on behalf of thousands of businesses and alleges Google ensured its search engine had better functionality and more features for Google’s own advertising offering than that of its competitors.
A Google spokesperson said: “This is yet another speculative and opportunistic case – and we will argue against it vigorously. Consumers and advertisers use Google because it helpful, not because there are no alternatives.”
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