Google in legal tussle over $17 bn UK lawsuit triggered by adtech practices

Online advertising good practices: Google’s parent company Alphabet, is facing a legal tussle in London as it seeks to do away with a lawsuit alleging anticompetitive practices in the online advertising market. The lawsuit, which seeks damages of up to £13.6 billion ($16.9 billion) on behalf of UK-based website and app publishers, accuses Google of abusing its dominance in the sector.
During a three-day hearing at the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT), lawyers representing the Ad Tech Collective Action argued for the case to proceed to trial, citing Google's alleged anticompetitive behavior as the cause of financial losses for publishers. However, Google countered by asserting that the case lacked coherence and failed to adequately demonstrate how its conduct had resulted in losses for the publishers.
This legal tangle occurs amidst ongoing regulatory scrutiny into Google's adtech business by authorities such as Britain's Competition and Markets Authority and the European Commission. The Ad Tech Collective Action's lawyer highlighted previous fines imposed on Google by the European Commission for similar anticompetitive practices.
Google is simultaneously facing legal challenges in the United States, with lawsuits filed by the Department of Justice and various states accusing the tech giant of anticompetitive behavior.
Google has outrightly denied the allegations against it, reaffirming that its impact on the ad tech industry has been overwhelmingly beneficial and procompetitive. Despite Google's defence, the lawsuit marks another high-profile legal battle for a tech giant at the CAT, following recent cases against Facebook parent Meta and Apple.

(With Reuters inputs)