Google is facing a class action lawsuit in the UK for £5 billion ($6.6 billion) over allegations of abusing its dominance in the search advertising market. The lawsuit was filed on Tuesday at the Competition Appeal Tribunal.
The claim alleges that Google restricted competing search engines, making itself the only viable option for online search advertising since January 2011. The suit is being brought on behalf of all U.K.-based organizations that used Google's search advertising services from January 1, 2011, up until the claim was filed.
The suit alleges Google restricted competition by pre-installing Google Search and Chrome on Android devices, paying Apple to be the default search engine on Safari, and favoring its own advertising products. Google calls the case "speculative" and plans to contest it. Competition law expert Dr. Or Brook is leading the claim on behalf of thousands of UK businesses.
A 2020 market study from the U.K.'s competition regulator found that Google earned 90% of all revenue in the search advertising market. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched an investigation into Google's search services, including their impact on advertising markets, in January 2025.