£5 billion legal action against Google cleared for trial

The UK Competition Appeal Tribunal has certified a £5 billion legal action against Google brought on behalf of hundreds of thousands of UK businesses and organisations that used its search advertising services, allowing it to proceed to trial.

The collective action case, brought by Or Brook Class Representative Limited, controlled by competition law academic Dr Or Brook, accuses Google of abusing its near-total dominance in the general search market to drive up prices for search advertising for almost 900,000 businesses and organisations in the UK.

In its ruling, the Tribunal dismissed Google’s arguments and granted a Collective Proceedings Order (CPO) on an opt-out basis. This means that businesses that were overcharged for Google ads are automatically represented in the case at trial, rather than needing to opt-in.

Rejecting Google’s arguments that businesses should instead ‘opt-in’ to join the case, the Competition Appeal Tribunal stated that there was “almost nothing to be said in favour of opt-in”, and it was “very clearly in favour” of allowing the case to proceed as an ‘opt-out’ claim.

The Competition Appeal Tribunal decision commended Dr Brook’s “major, careful, detailed contributions”, noting that her evidence was “highly material, and persuasive.”

It also criticised Google’s “nit-picking” approach to distributing potential compensation if the case is successful, adding that the tech giant failed to engage with Or Brook Class Representative Limited until very late in the day.

UK businesses that have used Google’s search advertising services should visit the claim’s website to find out about compensation. I’m delighted with this decision. It is an important step toward securing compensation for the many thousands of UK businesses and organisations that have been overcharged for using Google’s search advertising services.

Regulators in the UK and beyond have repeatedly recognised the consequences of Google’s sheer dominance in the general search market. For businesses that depend on search advertising to reach customers, that dominance carries a real financial cost.

– Dr Or Brook, Or Brook Class Representative Limited We are very pleased with the Tribunal’s decision, including its rightful recognition of Dr Brook’s ‘major, careful, detailed contributions’ to the case. We echo these comments and thank Dr Brook for her efforts. – Patrick Teague, Partner, Geradin Partners