Google faces 5 billion pound UK lawsuit for abusing dominance in online search

Google is facing a lawsuit in the UK seeking potential damages of as much as 5 billion pounds ($6.6 billion) in a class action that claims the company misused its dominant position in the online search sector.

The class action, submitted to the Competition Appeal Tribunal on Tuesday, claims that Google’s conduct allowed it to set higher prices for the ads displayed in search queries than it would be able to in a competitive marketplace.

It mentioned that the U.S. tech powerhouse hired phone manufacturers to pre-load Google Search and the Chrome browser on Android devices and compensated Apple (AAPL.O), opens new tab to ensure it became the default search engine on iPhones, aiming to eliminate rivals.

The lawsuit, submitted by competition law specialist Or Brook representing thousands of companies, asserts that Google made sure its search engine provided superior functionality and more features for its own advertising services compared to those of its rivals.

Google said this was “yet another speculative and opportunistic case”. “We will argue against it vigorously,” a spokesperson said. “Consumers and advertisers use Google because it is helpful, not because there are no alternatives.”

Brook said businesses had almost no choice but to use Google ads to advertise their products and services. “Regulators around the world have described Google as a monopoly and securing a spot on Google’s top pages is essential for visibility,” she said in a statement.

“Google has been leveraging its dominance in the general search and search advertising market to overcharge advertisers.”