Advertisers prepare mass Google claims

Google is facing a new wave of private claims after two antitrust defeats, with advertisers preparing mass arbitration cases that could seek billions. (searchengineland.com) The claims target Google’s search advertising and advertising technology businesses after two 2024 federal rulings found the company held illegal monopolies in those markets. The first arbitration filings were expected this week, according to reports published April 14. (claimsjournal.com) Mass arbitration is a tactic built around filing large numbers of individual cases at once, often because contracts block class actions and require one-by-one arbitration instead. Google’s advertiser contracts use arbitration clauses, so claimants are organizing coordinated filings rather than a single damages suit. (searchengineland.com) The legal opening came from court wins by the United States Department of Justice and state attorneys general. In one case, a federal judge in Washington found Google monopolized online search; in another, a federal judge in Virginia found Google monopolized key open-web ad technology markets. (justice.gov) Those rulings did not themselves award money to advertisers. They established liability findings that private claimants can now try to use in seeking compensation for alleged overcharges on ads bought through Google systems. (searchengineland.com) Bloomberg, via Claims Journal and other pickups, reported the potential damages estimate could reach $218 billion if enough advertisers participate. Search Engine Land reported that advertisers see the rulings as a path to recover money tied to years of ad spending. (claimsjournal.com) Google is appealing the monopoly rulings, and that appeal posture hangs over the damages push. The company has also said in prior antitrust cases that it competes on the merits and that users and business partners choose its products because they work well. (claimsjournal.com) A separate case filed April 14 adds pressure on another front. Aptoide, a Portuguese rival app store, sued Google in federal court in San Francisco, alleging Google monopolized Android app distribution and billing and shut out smaller stores. (money.usnews.com) Aptoide said it offers lower commissions to developers and lower costs to users, but argued Google’s control of distribution, billing and access to top developers keeps rivals from gaining traction. Reuters reported that Google did not immediately respond to requests for comment on that lawsuit. (money.usnews.com) The two fights are separate, but they rest on the same basic accusation: that Google used control over key digital gateways to lock in business and raise costs. The next test is whether antitrust losses that changed Google’s legal standing also turn into large cash payouts. (claimsjournal.com)