Google is in deep waters with the British and Dutch courts. The tech giant has been sued over its digital advertising practices and hence slammed with two different lawsuits. These will be held in the upcoming weeks which means the lawyers at Google are already at work.
As per several credible sources online, Google can face up to $25.4 billion in damages. The same sources also quote that the damages are nearly half of the profit the company made this year. In fiscal year, 2021 Google's revenue amounted to 256.7 billion U.S. dollars overall.
Unraveling the Two Lawsuits Against Google
It is pertinent to mention that both the lawsuits that Google is slammed with recently are funded by renowned litigation funder Harbour. The Dutch lawsuit filed in the Netherlands against the tech giant seeks to recover compensation from publishers. Those who were specifically affected negatively by its unethical digital advertisement practice. On the other hand, the Great Britain lawsuit seeks to recover compensation on behalf of all the owners of the websites and traditional publishers. Those who carried banner advertisements on their sites.
It is important to know that no matter how many rules and regulations are set in place, companies like Google do time and again break them and face the consequences. For its advertisement practices, Google has been in legal hot water a few times.
The most notable one was when Google’s advertising technology provided a French competition with an unfair edge over its competitors in the advertising industry. As a result, antitrust regulators have begun focusing on the corporation and punished the company with a fine of €220 million, a year ago.
Damien Geradin at the law firm Geradin Partners said:
It is time that Google owns up to its responsibilities and pays back the damages it has caused to this important industry. That is why today we are announcing these actions across two jurisdictions to obtain compensation for EU and UK publishers.
The tech giant in this case argued against the lawsuit. They said that the company had worked hand in hand with publishers across Europe, constructively. They further added that it is based on speculation and an ‘opportunity to make money'. Google is set to put up with a
a forceful defense once they receive the complaint.
A spokesperson from Google said:
This lawsuit is speculative and opportunistic. When we receive the complaint, we’ll fight it vigorously.
Both the European Commission and its counterpart in the UK are examining the corporation since it has an unfair advantage over its advertising rivals. The initial investigation began last year during the month of June. It investigated whether Google prefers its own online display advertising technology services to the detriment of rivals, advertisers, and online publishers.
Most tech companies in the world today are breaking the rules set in place. They are powerful and so, carry out unethical practices across the world. Except for places such as the US, the UK, and Europe where the law and order situation is better.
