Google Hit With Massive £5 Billion Lawsuit – Find Out If You’re Eligible to Claim.
Class action proceedings have begun against Google in the UK over claims the US tech giant exploited its powerful position in the general search and search advertising sectors to inflate ad costs and crush competition.
A complaint was submitted today (16 April) to the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) by Or Brook Class Representative Limited, a London-based firm led by competition law scholar Dr. Or Brook. This action represents the interests of numerous UK businesses that utilized Google’s search advertising services from January 2011 to April 2025.
Dr Brook said in a statement: “Today, UK businesses and organisations, big or small, have almost no choice but to use Google Ads to advertise their products and services. Regulators around the world have described Google as a monopoly and securing a spot on Google’s top pages is essential for visibility.”
She added: “This class action is about holding Google accountable for its unlawful practices and seeking compensation on behalf of UK advertisers who have been overcharged.”
Damien Geradin, founding partner of Geradin Partners – one of the law firms acting for the claimant – commented: “This is the first claim of its kind in the UK that seeks redress for the harm caused specifically to businesses who have been forced to pay inflated prices for advertising space on Google pages. We are fully committed to holding Google accountable and securing fair compensation for affected organisations and businesses.”
Abuse of Power? Google Faces £5 Billion Lawsuit Over Alleged Advertising Monopoly
According to the claim, Google paid billions to secure its spot as the default search engine on Apple’s Safari browser, effectively shutting out competition and maintaining its monopoly. By doing so, the tech giant allegedly forced advertisers to pay inflated, “supra-competitive” prices to appear on its search results — prices that wouldn’t exist in a fair, open market.
With a 90% share of the global search engine market and over 200,000 UK businesses using Google’s ad services, the financial impact is massive. The lawsuit seeks up to £5 billion in damages, representing the alleged overcharges paid by UK advertisers over the last decade.
This is an opt-out class action, meaning any UK-based business that bought Google search ads since 2011 is automatically included in the claim — unless they choose to remove themselves.
Do You Qualify for a Payout in the £5 Billion Google Ad Lawsuit?
So, what does this mean for UK businesses that advertised with Google? If your company paid for Google Search ads anytime between January 2011 and April 2025, you could be entitled to a share of the £5 billion in potential damages. Because this is an opt-out class action, there’s no need to sign up or fill out forms right now — eligible businesses are automatically included unless they actively choose to opt out.
If the case succeeds, compensation will be distributed based on how much each advertiser spent during the relevant period. In other words, if your business used Google Ads, you might receive a payout without having to do anything at all. For now, the best step is simply to stay informed as the case progresses through the Competition Appeal Tribunal.
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