ChannelNews reported this week that Australian law firm Maurice Blackburn is investigating a class action against Google for alleged anti-competitive conduct in the display digital advertising market in Oz.
Now, similar claims made against the tech giant internationally have found to be capable of standing up in court and could be a framework with which the Oz legal team determines their course of action.
The UK’s Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) has allowed a £7bn (around A$13.6 billion) class action lawsuit to proceed against Google which alleges that the company exploited its dominant position in the search engine market.
Initially filed in September 2023 by consumer rights campaigner Nikki Stopford, it accused Google of using its market dominance to “increase advertising costs,” leading to higher prices for millions of consumers across the UK.
Additionally, it alleges that Google abused its position by requiring mobile phone manufacturers to use its Android operating system to pre-install Google Search and Chrome apps, and by paying Apple to ensure Google remains the default search engine on its devices.
In July this year, here in Australia, following an intervention by Australia’s top consumer protection regulator, Telstra and Optus agreed that they will no longer have exclusive agreements with Google Search to have the service pre-installed as the default search engine on Android devices that they sell.
Maurice Blackburn’s investigations in Oz relate to Google providing AdTech services to both advertisers and publishers of ads, which it therefore alleges lends the company a dominant position at all points of the AdTech supply chain.
An ACCC Inquiry into digital advertising in 2021 identified significant competition concerns and considered that Google’s conflicts of interest had “led to poor outcomes” for publishers. The ACCC said at the time, “Over more than a decade, Google’s vertical integration and strength in ad tech services has allowed it to engage in a range of conduct which has lessened competition over time and entrenched its dominant position.”
Maurice Blackburn says that its latest class action would seek to recover compensation for publishers of digital ad inventory who have received less revenue for the ad space they sell, than they would have otherwise.
The legal firm says that its decision to investigate a potential class action follows similar proceedings in the US, which is being led by the US Department of Justice. That trial commenced in September, and the judge is hearing closing arguments this week.
In a separate case in the US, a judge found that Google has illegally monopolised the search market, and the Justice Department which is spearheading that case has recommended to the judge that Google sell Chrome.
