UK’s CAT says class action lawsuit against Google (and its search deal with Apple) can continue
The United Kingdom’s Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) says Nikki Stopford’s class action claim of over £7 billion against Google for alleged breaches of competition law in respect of its search services in the UK may proceed to a full trial.
Stopford has been approved to act as the class representative on behalf of consumers that she claims have suffered loss due to Google’s conduct. She’s a consumer rights campaigne.
Last month the CAT rejected Google’s attempt to torpedo the claim early. The lawsuit brought by Stopford on behalf of UK consumers alleges Google shut out competition in mobile search, raising prices for advertisers, with consumers ultimately paying the cost.
The CAT decision comes after US Department of Justice published a list of proposed remedies for Google’s breaches of US competition law, aimed at weakening Google’s grip over online search The UK case is worth an estimated £7 billion and accuses Big Tech firm of anti-competitive practices by effectively forcing handset manufacturers to pre-install Google search and Google Chrome browser apps on Android devices.
The lawsuit also claims that Google unlawfully paid billions to Apple to ensure that Google was the default search engine on all Apple devices.In particular, Stopford alleges that Google acted anti-competitively by (i) tying Google Search with mobile apps and services on Android devices, which in practice forced handset manufacturers to pre-install Google search and browser apps on devices using its Android operating system; and (ii) paying Apple billions to ensure that Google Search was the default search engine on iPhones and other devices that used Apple’s iOS operating system.
The specialist UK court will require Google to defend its longstanding conduct in the search engine market.
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