A large Google logo is seen at Google’s Bay View campus in Mountain View, California on August 13, 2024 where the "Made by Google" media event was held today. – AFP Photo

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.”

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.”

The Competition and Markets Authority launched a UK investigation in January into Google’s search services, including their impact on advertising markets. It said at the time that millions of people and businesses relied on Google’s services, which accounted for 90% of searches and were used by more than 200,000 UK businesses to advertise, which is still ongoing.

Source: The Guardian