Google facing £billion lawsuit in the UK

Google is facing a £5 billion lawsuit in the UK, accusing the company of exploiting its market dominance and unfair practices.

Google is facing a collective lawsuit in the UK, estimated to be worth £5 billion (around $6.6 billion), following increasing criticism of tech giants dominating global markets. The lawsuit, filed on Tuesday, April 16, was initiated by competition law expert, Or Brook, on behalf of thousands of registered businesses in the UK. It accuses Google of exploiting its dominant position in the online search market.

The complaint argues that Google has unlawfully eliminated competition by pre-installing its Chrome browser and search engine on Android devices. Additionally, it claims Google paid Apple to make its search engine the default on iPhones, which further pushed rivals out of the market. This practice, the lawsuit claims, has hindered fair competition in the digital marketplace.

According to the plaintiffs, Google has used its market dominance to charge higher advertising fees, forcing UK companies to pay more to ensure visibility in search results. This has raised concerns about Google’s impact on businesses, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises, which struggle to compete with the tech giant’s overwhelming presence.

In response, Google has dismissed the lawsuit as a “baseless and opportunistic claim,” arguing that users choose its services because they find them useful. The company maintains that its services offer benefits to users, and the high market share is due to consumer preference rather than anti-competitive behavior.

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is also investigating Google’s practices in the online search and advertising markets. Since the beginning of this year, the CMA has been probing whether Google’s dominance in the UK search market—over 90% of online searches are conducted through Google—creates an unfair advantage for the company, especially with more than 200,000 UK businesses dependent on its advertising services.

This lawsuit against Google highlights ongoing concerns about the power of tech giants in the digital economy. As authorities and businesses continue to scrutinize Google’s practices, the outcome could have significant implications for the future of digital competition and advertising regulations.

Given the growing pressure from both legal and regulatory bodies, Google’s approach to handling these cases will likely shape its future operations and relationships with users and businesses worldwide.

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