A judge has decided that Google must pay £13.6 billion to settle a complaint that claims it has excessive control over the online advertising market.
A group named Ad Tech Collective Action LLP filed the lawsuit, claiming that the search engine giant engaged in anti-competitive behavior that resulted in financial losses for UK web publishers.
In an attempt to have the lawsuit dismissed, Alphabet, the parent company of Google, referred to the case as “incoherent”.
However, the London-based Competition Appeal Tribunal has decided that the matter can now proceed to trial.
Former Ofcom director Claudio Pollack, who is currently a partner at Ad Tech Collective Action, stated that “this is a decision of major importance to the victims of Google’s anti-competitive conduct in adtech.”
Google will now have a full trial to answer for its actions.”
The news has contacted Google to request a response.
The case relates to advertising technology, or adtech for short, which determines which internet advertisements consumers view and how much publishers must pay for them.
Many websites make a significant amount of money from hosting these advertisements; according to Ad Tech Collective Action, digital advertising spending will reach $490 billion in 2021.
Google finds this market to be quite lucrative as well, given its strong hold on web search.
