One hundred pounds for each of the UK’s 65 million consumers is the amount Nikki Stopford is demanding from Google. Or 7 billion pounds (8.3 billion euros) in total. Co-founder of the consumer protection organisation Consumer Voice, she filed a class-action complaint on their behalf. A court It began examining its validity on Wednesday and will deliver its verdict within a month, paving the way for a trial.
“Google has reached agreements with all mobile phone manufacturers who wish to use its Android operating system, details Mme Stopford. If they want access to their Play Store, they must agree to install and promote their Chrome search engine and portal. » Added to this are payments to Apple “for a sum of several billion dollars” to ensure that its search engine appears by default on iPhones, it specifies.
Result, “In the UK, over 90% of online searches are done through Google, compared to less than 5% through Bing”said M againme Stopford. This monopoly – and the lack of competition it creates – allows Google to sell its advertising space at inflated prices. It cites research by the Competition and Markets Authority, the UK’s competition regulator, which showed that the cost per click, or the amount charged to an advertiser when an internet user clicks on its online ad, was 30% to 40% more expensive on Google than on Bing.
Domination on smartphones
“These additional costs are then passed on to consumers.” continues the co-founder of Consumer Voice. And since almost all British companies advertise on Google, the practice has a widespread impact on the price of goods sold in the UK.
This is not the only lawsuit targeting Google across the Channel. Along with the Netherlands, the United Kingdom is the European country where the American group faces the most legal actions, says lawyer Damien Geradin, involved in another class action, initiated by Barry Rodger, professor of competition law at the University of Strathclyde. “I represent around 2,200 application developers, mainly SMEs”explains the latter.
They have no choice but to use Google’s Play Store to market their products, given the latter’s dominance on Android-based smartphones. “This allows Google to charge them excessive commissions, up to 30%”The complaint, filed at the end of August, is demanding £1 billion (€1.2 billion) from Google to compensate app developers for losses suffered since 2018.
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