Credit: Pawel Czerwinski via Unsplash
Google faces a potential class action in Australia as law firm Slater and Gordon Lawyers looks at alleged anti-competitive behaviour in the advertising market.
The legal action here comes after a US judge ruled that Google acted illegally to acquire and maintain monopoly power by linking its publisher ad server and ad exchange together through contractual policies and technological integration.
Slater and Gordon practice group leader Ben Hardwick said the average small or medium Australian business has little alternative to Google, and no room to challenge the fees Google charges.
He said that as a result, sellers virtually had no choice but to use Google’s advertising services, “spending thousands of dollars a month”, while also paying a “significant commission” on every piece of online ad space they bought.
“Across the world, we have seen action being taken against Google for its conduct in advertising. In particular, Google has been found in the US to have illegally acquired and maintained a monopoly in online advertising,” Hardwick said.
“Google’s power in the ad tech industry is so extensive that the vast majority of ads you see online – whether on websites or in search results – will have gone through one of Google’s platforms, allowing Google to extract its high fees and earn millions from Australian businesses.
“Google’s dominance in online advertising means that Australian businesses have little choice but to bow to Google’s demands to keep their businesses running. This is allowing Google to charge a much higher fee than they otherwise would have been able to in a properly competitive market.”
Hardwick said many start-ups or small to medium businesses, who had little choice but to operate and advertise online, have been “cut to the bone” by high fees which add to the cost of doing business.
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