Google Facing £25 Billion Legal Claim In UK Over Abuse of Search Ad Market
LONDON, May 28 (Bernama-PA Media/dpa) -- Google is facing a £25 billion (US$33.7 billion) legal claim in the UK, accusing the tech giant of abusing its dominant position in the online search advertising market.
The claims that Google's agreements with mobile device manufacturers to make Google Search the default search engine on devices has pushed prices up for UK advertisers.
The claim is being led by Roger Kaye KC, a former deputy High Court judge, and has been filed at the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT), where it alleges Google's unlawful conduct has impacted between 500,000 and 1.5 million UK advertisers, resulting in "excessive and unfair prices" for advertising.
bootstrap slideshow
It is seeking compensation for all advertisers who paid Google for search advertising from January 1, 2011 until now, estimating an aggregated award of up to £25 billion.
The claim argues that Google's agreements with phone manufacturers and network operators to make Google's search engine the default option on their products meant it has been able to maintain a significant degree of domination in the search market, and as a result charge higher prices.
The US tech giant is already facing a similar legal claim at CAT over its search advertising business, and a judge in the US ruled last year that it is running a monopoly in search.
The company is now fighting proposals that it could be required to break up its digital empire and sell off parts of its business, such as its Chrome web browser, as part of the remedies in that case.
Kaye said: "This case marks a significant step in re-establishing a fair and competitive landscape for all advertisers.
"Monopolising the advertising space to the point of abuse cannot continue."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Barnama
16 minutes ago
- Barnama
Perlis FAMA Eyes RM20,000 In Sales At One-day Semarak Aidiladha
ARAU, June 5 (Bernama) -- The Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority (FAMA) Perlis branch is targeting RM20,000 in sales for the one-day Semarak Aidiladha Special Sale, which is being held today at the Simpang Empat Permanent Farmers Market, near here. State FAMA director Mohd Anzara Azizan said the special sale involves 50 traders offering a total of 8.3 metric tonnes of food supplies, allowing consumers to purchase essential goods at discounted prices ahead of the Aidiladha celebration. 'The items offered are 0.2 metric tonnes of local beef, 0.1 metric tonnes of chicken, 3.0 metric tonnes of fish and seafood, 2.0 metric tonnes of vegetables and fruits, and 3.0 metric tonnes of local white rice, with prices ranging from 10 to 30 per cent lower than the market,' he said after launching the sale today.
Barnama
22 minutes ago
- Barnama
13 BAS.MY Kota Setar Routes Launched Under SBST Initiative In Kedah
ALOR SETAR, June 5 (Bernama) -- Thirteen stage bus routes under the Kota Setar brand have begun phased operations from June 1, as part of the Stage Bus Services Transformation (SBST) programme in Kedah. The Ministry of Transport (MOT) said the programme is a federal government initiative under Budget 2024, with an allocation of RM80 million for a five-year service period, or RM16 million per year. 'This initiative is part of efforts to improve the quality of stage bus services in Alor Setar and other towns, including Sungai Petani, Jitra, Kuala Kedah, Kuala Nerang, and Pendang. ' Kota Setar services will operate at a frequency of every 30 minutes on urban routes and between 60 and 90 minutes on inter-district routes. The routes have been designed to connect major destinations around Alor Setar, such as Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital, Pekan Rabu, Darul Aman Stadium, Sultan Abdul Halim Airport, and the Kuala Kedah Jetty,' it said in a statement today. The routes are K10 Shahab Perdana-Kuala Kedah; K20 Shahab Perdana-Jitra; K30 Shahab Perdana-Kuala Nerang; K40 Shahab Perdana-Pendang via Simpang Empat; K41 Shahab Perdana-Pendang via Kota Sarang Semut; K50 Shahab Perdana-Sungai Petani; K51 Sungai Petani-Tanjung Dawai; K52 Sungai Petani-Pantai Merdeka; K60 Sungai Petani-Bandar Baharu; K61 Sungai Petani-Taman Kelisa; K62 Sungai Petani-Taman Ria Jaya / Taman Batik; K63 Sungai Petani-Bandar Perdana and K100 Alor Setar Feeder. The ministry added that the Land Public Transport Agency (APAD), as the implementing agency of the SBST programme in Kedah, had appointed Gopi Travel Tours Sdn Bhd as the network operator for the bus services through an open tender process. 'Gopi Travel Tours Sdn Bhd has experience in operating stage bus services under the SBST programme in Seremban. The SBST programme aims to improve the quality of existing stage bus services to be more efficient, reliable, and sustainable, by balancing high-demand and social routes, optimising service frequencies and operational costs. 'A total of 48 new buses of 'midi' and low-floor mini types are being used. These new low-floor buses make boarding and alighting easier and are disabled-friendly. They are also equipped with modern technology such as cashless payment systems and closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras to enhance passenger safety,' it said. The government has also introduced a free fare initiative for senior citizens, persons with disabilities (PwDs), school students, and university, polytechnic, community college and matriculation students via the Concession Card.
Free Malaysia Today
38 minutes ago
- Free Malaysia Today
China offers bounty on hackers it says are linked to Taiwan
Taiwan's defence ministry said it was not carrying out any 'corporate cyber attacks'. (File pic) BEIJING : Authorities in southern China have offered an undisclosed bounty for more than 20 people they say are linked to Taiwan and suspected of cyber attacks in China, the official news agency Xinhua said today, accusations Taipei strongly rejected. The public security bureau in the Chinese city of Guangzhou said the hackers were connected to the Taiwan government and published their pictures, names and Taiwan identity card numbers. 'Chinese authorities accused Taiwan of organising, planning and premeditating attacks on key sectors such as military, aerospace, government departments, energy and transportation, maritime affairs, science and technology research firms in China as well as in special administration regions Hong Kong and Macau,' Xinhua said. Xinhua, citing a cybersecurity report, said the Taiwan 'information, communication and digital army' had cooperated with US anti-Chinese forces to conduct public opinion and cognitive warfare against China, secretly instigating revolution and attempting to disrupt public order in China. Taiwan's defence ministry said in a statement it was not carrying out any 'corporate cyber attacks', and that China's offers of a bounty highlighted 'the rude and unreasonable attitude of the Chinese communists in intimidating and coercing the Taiwanese people'. 'Recent statements by the EU, the US and the Czech Republic condemning the Chinese communists' hacking organisations for carrying out cyber-attacks prove that the Chinese communists are not only a regional troublemaker, but a common threat to the global internet,' it added. A senior Taiwan security official told Reuters that the Chinese allegations were invented, saying Beijing was trying to shift the focus from Czech and European scrutiny over alleged Chinese hacking activities there. 'They fabricated a false narrative to shift the focus. It's a very typical behaviour by the Chinese Communist Party,' the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the matter. China also said Taiwan had longstanding cooperation with the US National Security Agency, the Central Intelligence Agency and other intelligence agencies as part of the US' 'Asia-Pacific Strategy', calling it Taiwan's attempt to gain independence through relying on the US. 'The US intelligence department has long provided personnel training and technical equipment support for Taiwan's 'information, communication and digital army', and many police stations have sent 'hunting' teams to Taiwan, to launch a cyber attacks on China,' according to a social media post by an account linked to Chinese state television. Last week authorities in Guangzhou, the capital of southern Guangdong province, attributed a cyber attack on an unnamed technology company to the Taiwan government, saying Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party supported the 'overseas hacker organisation' responsible. In response, Taiwan said Beijing was peddling false information, and that it was China that was carrying out hacking against the island. China views Taiwan as its own territory. Taiwan's democratically elected government rejects Beijing's sovereignty claims. Chinese courts and legal bodies have no jurisdiction in Taiwan, whose government has repeatedly complained about Beijing's 'long armed jurisdiction' efforts.
