Google is to face damages actions in the UK and the Netherlands over alleged "anti-competitive conduct" in relation to its ad tech.

Geradin Partners, the legal firm bringing the case against Google on behalf of publishers in both countries, claims that the tech giant deprived media organisations of "billions of revenues" through anti-competitive practices during a time when they were struggling to pay their journalists.

“Publishers, including local and national news media who play a vital role in our society, have long been harmed by Google’s anti-competitive conduct,” said Damien Geradin, Geradin Partners. “It is time that Google owns up to its responsibilities and pays back the damages it has caused to this important industry."

According to Reuters, the legal damages could be worth up to €25 billion.

The legal action comes after the UK’s competition watchdog opened a second investigation into Google’s practices in digital advertising in May.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it was investigating whether the tech giant broke the law by restricting competition in the ad tech market.

In 2021, the French Competition Authority imposed a fine of €220 million on Google after it found the company had abused its dominant position by engaging in various forms of "self-preferencing".

The authority said that Google used its publisher ad servers by favouring its own ad exchange and had used its ad exchange to favour its publisher ad server.

National Technology News has approached Google for comment on the legal proceedings.

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