Google faces double lawsuit over adtech practices in UK and Dutch courts

Geradin Partners, a law firm representing publishers will soon launch two lawsuits in British and Dutch courts against Alphabet subsidiary Google over its digital advertising tactics, seeking damages in the amount of up to 25 billion euros ($25.4 billion).

“It is time that Google owns up to its responsibilities and pays back the damages it has caused to this important industry. That is why today we are announcing these actions across two jurisdictions to obtain compensation for EU and UK publishers,” Damien Geradin at law firm Geradin Partners said in a statement on Tuesday.

Following complaints from publishers, antitrust regulators have recently begun to investigate Google’s adtech. The company was fined 220 million euros by the French competition watchdog last year, and the European Commission and its UK counterpart are looking into whether Google’s adtech business provides it an unfair edge over competitors and advertisers.

Google criticised the impending legal actions and stated that it collaborates positively with publications all around Europe. “This lawsuit is speculative and opportunistic. When we receive the complaint, we’ll fight it vigorously,” a Google spokesperson told Reuters.

In 2020, the parent company of Google generated $147 billion from online advertisements, 16% of which came from services that allowed online publishers to utilise Google’s ad technology to sell and show advertisements on their websites.

The British lawsuit filed with the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal aims to obtain restitution for all website owners who display banner ads, including conventional publishers. Britain has a policy of opting out. Publishers impacted by Google’s activities are eligible to file a claim in the Netherlands. Harbour is providing funds for both lawsuits.