UK greenlights £13 bn legal claim against Google

LONDON: A multibillion-pound claim against Google for alleged anti-competitiveness in digital advertising can proceed to trial, the UK’s Competition Appeal Tribunal ruled Wednesday.

The £13.6 billion claim ($17.4 billion), brought by the Ad Tech Collective Action LLP, accuses the US tech giant of abusing its dominant position and causing significant losses to UK online publishers.

The case centres around so-called ad tech, the system that decides which online adverts people see and how much they cost.

At the heart of the Ad Tech Collective Action argument is the claim that Google has abused its position in the market by promoting its own products and services over those of rivals.

“This is a decision of major importance to the victims of Google’s anti-competitive conduct in ad tech,” Claudio Pollack, a partner of Ad Tech Collective Action, said in response to Wednesday’s announcement. “Google will now have to answer for its practices in a full trial” at a date to be decided, he said.

Oliver Bethell, legal director at Google, called the lawsuit “speculative and opportunistic”, adding that the tech giant would “oppose it vigorously”.