Google likely to face Australian lawsuits from price comparison sites
Google is facing dozens of civil damage claims from price comparison websites in Europe that claim its search monopoly cost them billions of dollars. Legal experts have signalled the search giant may face similar legal action in Australia, should local businesses opt to mount a class action.
Google is currently battling at least 12 civil cases, across seven European countries, that allege the tech giant used its own search dominance to favour its own shopping services over other price comparison websites.
A 2017 ruling from the European Commission saw Google fined €2.4 billion for the practice, while a further ruling last year found the company violated antitrust laws, meaning plaintiffs can now sue for damages without proving the legal breach in court.
Google’s shopping comparison tool.
Bloomberg reports that Google is currently facing at least A$20.8 billion in damages, as cases continue to be filed by various shopping comparison sites across the EU. Italian website Trovaprezzi has brought a claim worth over A$5 billion, while several companies teamed up to mount a similar suit in Amsterdam last month.
Google has countered the various suits, with a spokesperson telling Bloomberg they “are brought by companies looking for a payout instead of investing in their own products.”
Australia could soon see a similar rush of lawsuits, according to legal experts.
Peter Carter, director of legal practice at Carter Capner Law, tells Mumbrella that Australia has similar competition laws to the EU.
Peter Carter
He points to Competition & Consumer Act section 46, which he says acts “to prevent Google from misusing its dominant position in the search market to damage competitors” who operate in another market.
“That’s exactly what the EU Commission fined it €2.42 billion for in 2017,” he explains
“Google set up its own comparative shopping site and promoted it – in Google searches – ahead of other comparative shopping site. It is likely that the search algorithm deployed by Google to its advantage was not just confined to Europe.”
Carter believes that Australian comparative shopping sites that “suffered damage as a result of that practice occurring in Australian searches are entitled to sue Google for all their resulting losses over the last six years.”
Gerard Malouf, chairman of Gerard Malouf & Partners, agrees.
He says the cases being pursued against Google in Europe are “certainly raising important questions that could echo here in Australia”. His firm recently launched a class action suit against Coles and Woolworths, regarding their misleading pricing.
“From our perspective as a law firm involved in class actions,” Malouf explains to Mumbrella, “there’s definitely scope for similar proceedings to be brought in Australia, particularly given the maturity of our group litigation regime and the growing scrutiny around Big Tech’s conduct.”
Gerard Malouf
Malouf points to a number of potential legal avenues in Australia, including abuse of market power, misleading or deceptive conduct, breach of contract, and unconscionable conduct.
“If a claim was to proceed in Australia, the likely group members would include online publishers, price comparison platforms, digital advertisers, and other small-to-mid-sized businesses reliant on Google for visibility or revenue,” he predicts.
“We’ve already seen the ACCC take enforcement action against Google in different areas, so the regulatory landscape is shifting.
“I think we’re not far off from seeing these international legal challenges spill over into the Australian courts. It would be terrific if the ACCC took the lead.”
Mumbrella reached out to the ACCC regarding any potential action, but did not receive a response.
Keep up to date with the latest in media and marketing
Got a tip?
Nathan Jolly is the Features Editor at Mumbrella. He joined the team in July, 2023.
Linkedin
topics
carter capner law
Gerard Malouf
Gerard Malouf & Partners
Google
Google search
lawsuit
Peter Capner
price comparison websites
Have your say