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Google's Response to $17 Billion UK Lawsuit: Unveiling the Tech Giant's Defense

Google parent Alphabet has ordered a London court to block a class action lawsuit accusing it of abusing its dominance in the online advertising market. This is the latest case to focus on the search giant's business practices.

The United Kingdom is seeking damages of up to 13.6 billion pounds ($16.9 billion) from publishers of UK-based websites and apps who say Google's alleged anti-competitive practices have caused them to lose out.

Lawyers for Ed Tech Collective Action asked the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) to certify the case for appeal at the start of the three-day trial on Wednesday. However, Google said the statement was incoherent and did not explain how the alleged anticompetitive practices harmed publishers.

Robert O’Donoghue, a lawyer with Ad Tech Collective Action, said the London lawsuit was “the latest in a string of major cases of set preference abuse involving Google.”

The news comes amid ongoing investigations into Google’s ad tech business by regulators, including Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority and the European Commission, which O’Donoghue said were expected to conclude soon.

O'Donoghue also cited two multi-billion-euro fines levied by the European Commission on Google over its online marketing and search services and a requirement to pre-install Google Search and its Chrome browser on Android mobile device's profile.

Google is also fighting two lawsuits in the US, one by the Department of Justice and the other by states like Texas, accusing the company of anti-competitive practices.

The company strongly rejects the underlying allegations against it”, its lawyers said in court documents for the CAT case. “Google’s impact in the ad tech industry has been hugely pro-competitive.”

The proposed Ad Tech Collective Action lawsuit is the latest in CAT against a tech giant, which this year has taken a $3.8 billion settlement against Facebook parent Meta and a nearly $1 billion settlement against Apple.

Conclusion: The outcome could shape the future landscape of digital advertising and competition across the tech industry, making it a pivotal moment in the ongoing debate over the power and responsibility of large tech companies.