Alphabet Faces Legal Challenge in London's Tribunal Over Search Dominance

Alphabet, Google's parent company, has sought to dismiss a multi-billion pound lawsuit accusing it of dominance abuse in the online search market. Consumer rights campaigner Nikki Stopford claims Google's practices elevate search advertising costs, which are passed onto consumers. The lawsuit is grounded partly on a significant EU fine against Google.

Alphabet, the parent company of Google, approached a London tribunal on Wednesday to dismiss a prominent lawsuit alleging it of exploiting its dominance in the online search market. The lawsuit is valued at up to 7 billion pounds ($9.3 billion) and represents the latest scrutiny over Google's business practices, especially its current antitrust trial in the United States regarding its online advertising operations.

This case is one of several high-profile, multi-billion-pound lawsuits filed at Britain's Competition Appeal Tribunal in recent years. It mirrors another case accusing Google of abuse in its online advertising market. Consumer rights advocate Nikki Stopford, representing the class action, contends that Google's dominance inflates the costs of search advertising services, ultimately burdening consumers.

The lawsuit incorporates the 2018 European Commission's fine of over 4 billion euros ($4.5 billion) against Google for imposing unfair restrictions on Android device manufacturers, a decision currently under appeal by the tech giant. Stopford's legal team also alleges Google's anti-competitive agreement with Apple to favor Google's search engine on Apple's Safari browser in exchange for a portion of mobile search ad revenue.

The legal representatives requested the Competition Appeal Tribunal to certify the case for trial, marking an early phase in such extensive litigation. However, Google refutes the claims, with its attorney Meredith Pickford arguing in court documents that the allegations suggesting consumer harm are without merit. Pickford further characterized the European Commission's findings as mere 'technical complaints' regarding Google's promotion methods and argued that the agreement with Apple is 'perfectly lawful in principle.' Apple has yet to comment on the matter.

(With inputs from agencies.)