The UK Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) has certified the £7 billion claim against Google brought by Nikki Stopford, a consumer rights campaigner, on behalf of tens of millions of UK consumers.
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. The specialist UK court will require Google to defend its longstanding conduct in the search engine market.
