On Wednesday, November 30th, a class action suit was filed at the Competition Appeals Tribunal (CAT) against Alphabet on behalf of 130,000 UK publishers. The claim alleges that Google exploited its market dominance to deprive publishers of advertising revenue, estimating the total losses from 1 January 2014 at £13.6 billion.
Professor Geradin, of Geradin Partners, who are representing the class with Humphries Kerstetter, stated:
“While the value of the claim we are bringing is substantial, we believe this matter is about much more than money. For years Google has been denying companies in the UK and Europe and beyond, including the local press and the publishers of community focused websites, the chance to earn a proper income by way of advertising. As well as bringing Google to account the parties who have lost out need proper compensation, something a CAT claim can achieve at no cost to those parties.”
We at MOW support this action and look forward to working with the class representative.