Another day, another tech giant under fire. This time, it’s Google—and the stakes are massive.
A class action lawsuit has been filed against the search giant in the U.K.’s Competition Appeal Tribunal, seeking a staggering £5 billion in damages. The claim? That Google used its overwhelming dominance in online search to inflate prices for advertisers and shut out the competition.
At the center of this legal move is competition law academic Or Brook, supported by law firm Geradin Partners. Brook represents hundreds of thousands of U.K. businesses—big and small—that relied on Google’s ad services between 2011 and 2024. Her argument is blunt: “This class action is about holding Google accountable for its unlawful practices and seeking compensation on behalf of UK advertisers who have been overcharged.”
The numbers back it up. According to a market study by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority, Google holds a 90% share of search ad revenue. The lawsuit outlines how Google allegedly sealed deals with phone makers to pre-install Chrome and Search, paid Apple billions to be the default engine on Safari, and gave preferential functionality to its own tools within Search Ads 360—undermining any fair chance for rivals.
Google’s response? As expected—they’re denying it all. A spokesperson dismissed the claim as “speculative and opportunistic,” insisting that users and advertisers choose Google because it’s helpful, not because they’re forced to.
But the pressure is mounting. From the EU’s record-breaking €4.3 billion fine in 2018 to Meta’s latest courtroom battle, Big Tech is no longer immune from global scrutiny. Regulators are tightening their grip, and the lawsuits keep stacking up.
Whether this case shakes Google’s hold on the U.K. ad market or not, one thing is clear: the era of unchecked dominance in digital markets is being challenged—loudly and legally.
