A lawsuit has been filed against Google, claiming the tech giant unlawfully used its dominant position in the online advertising world to stifle how much revenue publishers could make from them.
The suit, filed in London by ex-Guardian technology editor Charles Arthur, is seeking £3.4 billion (A$6.3 billion) in compensation on behalf of UK publishing houses.
Google called the lawsuit “speculative and opportunistic”.
UK regulator the Competition and Markets Authority is currently investigating Google’s dominance in digital advertising, but Arthur’s claim argues this doesn’t have the required teeth.
“The CMA is currently investigating Google’s anti-competitive conduct in adtech, but they don’t have the power to make Google compensate those who have lost out,” Arthur wrote.
“We can only right that wrong through the courts, which is why I am bringing this claim.”
Google told the BBC its advertising platform “and those of our many adtech competitors, help millions of websites and apps fund their content, and enable businesses of all sizes to effectively reach new customers”.