British advertisers vie to take on Google over web ad losses

Rival groups are competing to represent advertisers seeking billions in compensation alongside a British publishers’ lawsuit.(CN) — Google faces claims from both sides of Britain’s online advertising market: Businesses paying too much to reach readers and publishers earning too little.At Friday’s hearing, the Competition Appeal Tribunal — Britain’s specialist court for competition disputes — considered how competing advertiser claims from AGC Collective Actions Limited and BIRA Trading Limited should fit alongside an existing publishers’ lawsuit. Both companies seek to represent advertisers demanding compensation from Google. Google wants the litigation managed together and more time to answer BIRA’s broader case.Google operates tools businesses use to buy website ads, software publishers use to sell space and an exchange connecting the two. AGC argues Google used its influence over buyers and sellers to steer transactions toward its own exchange, AdX, weakening competing services.One example in AGC’s claim is a practice that let Google’s exchange see rivals’ bids before running its own auction, allowing it to win by offering slightly more. AGC says other practices inflated advertisers’ bids on Google’s exchange or disadvantaged bids sent to rivals. It claims advertisers consequently paid higher prices or received less useful advertising.Publishers, meanwhile, seek compensation for lost advertising revenue. Separate claims filed in 2022 and 2023 were combined under Ad Tech Collective Action LLP and approved to proceed in 2024. Their trial is scheduled for September 2028.British and European competition rules prohibit companies from abusing market dominance. Britain’s Consumer Rights Act expanded competition class actions in 2015, allowing eligible U.K. claimants to be included unless they opt out. That lets businesses pursue compensation collectively when individual lawsuits may be impractical. Permission to proceed does not establish that Google broke the law.The advertiser applicants disagree over which claim best captures the losses. Google says about 2.2 billion pounds ($2.95 billion) of BIRA’s 2.31 billion pounds damages estimate rests on reserve price optimization, an auction pricing issue absent from the other claims. BIRA also seeks compensation beyond purchases from Google.AGC disputes that estimate. “We say that our claim captures better the harm to the advertisers,” its lawyer, Mark Brealey, said. AGC suggests delaying the choice of representative if the tribunal needs Google’s response to assess BIRA’s additional claims.BIRA argues that Google’s request for preparation time could work against it when the tribunal chooses a representative: Its rival could use the resulting delay to argue for rejecting BIRA. “Google does not like that wider claim,” BIRA’s lawyer, Tristan Jones, said. BIRA maintains it can catch up with the publisher timetable even if approved in early 2027.Google’s lawyer, Meredith Pickford, acknowledged that existing work offers some help. “There are obviously some savings from that, but these are monumentally complex proceedings,” he said. Discussing possible challenges to parts of BIRA’s claim, Pickford said: “And we need proper time to develop them if we’re going to do so.”Publishers resist postponement, pointing to additional costs and possible appeals. Google argues coordinating the cases could require shifting the trial timetable by roughly three months if BIRA proceeds.Judge Thomas Leech gave Google until Jan. 15, 2027, to respond. “It is not a situation of its own making. I attribute no blame to any of the parties,” he said.Leech declined to order joint management or move the trial. The tribunal will hear the contest over advertiser representation on Dec. 14 and AGC’s application to proceed on Dec. 15. BIRA’s approval hearing, if needed, is set for Feb. 8, 2027, subject to availability. Leech aimed to deliver a ruling promptly after December’s hearing, Christmas permitting, but set no release date.Courthouse News reporter Eunseo Hong is based in the Netherlands.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads