Google faces a £7 billion lawsuit for blocking search engine competition at the expense of consumers
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Google faces a £7 billion lawsuit for blocking search engine competition at the expense of consumers
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Google accused of anti-competitive practices that have led to 65 million UK consumers paying more for goods and services

The lawsuit argues that Google has effectively ‘bought’ the UK mobile phone search engine market. Google forced mobile phone handset manufacturers to pre-install the Google Search and Google Chrome browser apps on devices that use Google’s Android operating system in order to obtain a licence to use Google Play.

Google also unlawfully paid billions to Apple to ensure that it was the default search engine on iPhones and other devices that used Apple’s iOS operating system. In 2019, Google paid £1.2 billion to Apple in the UK to be the default search engine on the Safari browser.

It is claimed that Google has used its market dominance to effectively charge advertisers over the odds. Costs were then passed on to such an extent that all consumers ended up paying higher prices for goods and services sold by brands that have advertised on the platform.

@Kissaki@feddit.de
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Who is eligible for compensation?

… all UK consumers who bought goods or services from a business who advertised using search advertising services provided by Google. This is effectively everyone in the UK.

Consumers do not have to have seen these goods and services advertised on Google, or used Google to have purchased the goods or services. This is because the claim says that these inflated prices were paid by everyone if the business advertised on Google.

Consumers affected by the Google claim could be owed around £100 if the claim is won. They will not pay costs or fees to participate. The claim is being funded by global litigation funder Hereford Litigation.

An interesting case and claim. Indirect correlation.

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