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Published on
April 16, 2025
5 min read
Google Faces a $6.6 Billion Fine in the UK for Online Search Dominance
Google is being sued in the UK for $6.6 billion in potential damages, CNBC has reported. The US tech giant is facing allegations of abuse of its dominance in the digital search market to charge more for adverts appearing in search inquiries than it would in a competitive market.
In a lawsuit filed on April 16 in Britain’s Competition Appeal Tribunal, the search giant is alleged to have abused its position by restricting competing search engines. The petitioners in the legal suit also claim that Google’s online search dominance was aimed at making the company the only viable option in online advertising.
Google Search Dominance Abuse
The lawsuit has been filed by the competition expert, Or Brook. In the lawsuit, Brook will be acting on behalf of numerous UK organizations that have been leveraging Google’s search advertising services since 2011.
“Today, UK businesses and organisations, big or small, have almost no choice but to use Google ads to advertise their products and services,” Brook said.
Brook said the goal of the UK lawsuit is to hold the tech giant accountable for its unfair practices.
“Regulators around the world have described Google as a monopoly and securing a spot on Google’s top pages is essential for visibility. Google has been leveraging its dominance in the general search and search advertising market to overcharge advertisers. This class action is about holding Google accountable for its unlawful practices and seeking compensation on behalf of UK advertisers who have been overcharged,” Brook added.
Stifling Competition
The latest lawsuit accuses Google of stifling competition in the search market. It argues that Google has been deliberate in its move to reduce competition in the search market. The US big tech reportedly contracted smartphone manufacturers to pre-install Chrome Browser and Google Search on Android devices.
The tech giant allegedly paid billions of dollars to Apple to make its search engine the default option on iPhones with the intention of pushing competition out. The lawsuit also claims that Google ensures that Search Ads 360, its search management tool, offers customers more features and better functionality with its own ad products compared to those of its competitors.
A study commissioned by the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) early this year showed that 90% of the total revenue generated by the search ads market went to Google. The report also indicated that millions of UK businesses and residents relied on the search services offered by the tech giant. More than 200,000 businesses across the UK used Google to advertise at that time.
The tech giant termed the Google tribunal lawsuit as opportunistic and speculative.
“We will argue against it vigorously. Consumers and advertisers use Google because it is helpful, not because there are no alternatives,” A Spokesperson of the company said.
Growing legal Challenge
Increasingly, US big techs have been facing legal challenges due to regulatory investigations, multiple lawsuits, and fines. In January this year, UK regulator CMA recommended investigation into Microsoft and Amazon after raising concerns over competition in the cloud computing market. The CMA based its action on the Digital Markets, Competition, and Consumers Act.
The recommendation to investigate the big techs came after a class action lawsuit accused Microsoft of requiring customers from rival cloud companies to pay more. The claimant in this lawsuit, which was filed in December 2024, wants Microsoft to pay £1 billion in compensation to firms affected over.
Earlier this week, an antitrust trial filed by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) against Meta commenced. The trial could force the social media giant to sell-off WhatsApp and Instagram platforms.
Last month, the EU accused Google and Apple of antitrust practices. In 2018, the same body fined Google a total of $4.9 billion for abusing market dominance with its Android operating system. The tech giant was accused of forcing smartphone manufacturers to pre-install Search and Chrome in a Play store bundle. Google appealed the antitrust penalty.
