A significant development in competition law has emerged with the filing of a £25 billion claim against Google. Specialist collective redress law firm KP Law, representing Roger Kaye KC, has initiated an opt-out class action at the Competition Appeal Tribunal, alleging that Google has abused its dominant position in online search advertising.
The claim, brought on behalf of an estimated 500,000 to 1.5 million UK advertisers, argues that Google’s agreements with device manufacturers to secure its default search status led to “excessive and unfair prices” for search advertising. Roger Kaye KC, a former deputy High Court judge, is acting as the class representative, seeking compensation for all UK advertisers who paid for Google search advertising from January 1, 2011, to the claim’s filing date.
Notably, this claim is the first UK collective action against Google to include a standalone claim for damages related to “abusive exploitative behaviour.” It specifically targets the imposition of “supracompetitive” pricing for text and product listing ads on Google’s search engine results pages since October 2015. The case asserts that Google’s exclusivity agreements with phone manufacturers, network operators, and a substantial payment to Apple for prominent placement on Safari, allowed it to maintain a degree of dominance enabling it to charge prices far above competitive benchmarks.
Duncan Hedar, head of KP Law’s competition department, highlighted that the unlawful conduct has already been proven by both the European Commission and a US court, emphasising the need to compensate affected UK advertisers. Roger Kaye KC added that the case aims to reestablish a fair and competitive landscape for all advertisers.
The claim is supported by prominent expert advisers, including Keystone AI, Andrea Coscelli (former head of the Competitions and Markets Authority), and Professor Andrew Stephen of Said Business School, University of Oxford.
Further information and updates on this case can be found at www.searchadvertisingclaim.co.uk.
