Brook argues that businesses have limited alternatives but to use Google ads for visibility, a sentiment echoed by regulators who have labeled Google a monopoly.

This legal action follows earlier investigations by the U.K.'s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) into Google's market power and practices.

The CMA initiated a formal investigation into Google’s search services in January 2025, recognizing that 90% of searches in the U.K. rely on Google, impacting over 200,000 businesses.

Google is facing a substantial class action lawsuit in the U.K., amounting to £5 billion (approximately $6.6 billion), for allegedly abusing its dominant position in the online search market.

Filed on April 15, 2025, by competition law expert Or Brook, the lawsuit claims that Google has manipulated its search engine's features to favor its advertising services over those of its competitors.

A 2020 CMA market study revealed that Google captured 90% of all revenue in the search advertising market, underscoring concerns about its monopolistic practices.

The lawsuit alleges that Google has engaged in exclusionary practices, such as securing exclusive deals with smartphone manufacturers to pre-install its search app and Chrome browser, and paying Apple billions to ensure Google is the default search engine on iPhones.

This case adds to the growing list of legal challenges faced by major U.S. tech companies, reflecting a broader trend of regulatory scrutiny in multiple countries.

Recent regulatory actions in the U.K. have also targeted other tech giants, with the CMA recommending investigations into Amazon and Microsoft for competition issues in the cloud computing sector.

This lawsuit follows a significant fine imposed on Google by the European Union in 2018, where the company was penalized €4.3 billion (about $4.9 billion) for similar antitrust violations related to its Android operating system.

The lawsuit is supported by Geradin Partners, a law firm specializing in competition law, which highlights Google's practices aimed at eliminating competition in the search advertising market.

In response to the lawsuit, a Google spokesperson dismissed the claims as speculative, asserting that users choose Google for its utility rather than a lack of alternatives.