Aussie tech minnow takes on Google in UK court for ‘abuse of dominant position’
Google is facing legal action from an Australian tech firm right here in Britain
GOOGLE'S market dominance is facing a fresh challenge after a technology start-up launched a legal action against the tech giant.
The US giant is already at the centre of several investigations by European regulators.
Now Australian technology firm Unlockd - which counts Tesco Mobile as a customer - is taking Google to court in the UK.
Unlockd is a platform backed by Lachlan Murdoch - son of The Sun’s owner Rupert Murdoch - that rewards smartphone users for viewing adverts when they unlock their phone.
Google has sought to cut off the supply of its advertising content to Unlockd. It also threatened to remove the Aussie firm’s apps from the Google Play Store.
Matt Berriman, co-founder, told The Sun: “Our legal advisers have confidence that the threats made by Google represent an abuse of its dominant position and a breach of competition rules.
“These warnings from Google emerged earlier this year at a time of speculation around our imminent IPO ][market debut] and their conduct is preventing the company from raising capital to scale and be in a position to compete with Google going forward.”
Winning the case would mean continued access to Google and further expansion in the UK and beyond.
Last year, the European Commission - the EU’s antitrust regulator - fined Google a record £2 billion for manipulating shopping services in its favour.
The EC is still investigating the practices of Google’s advertising division and those relating to the Android operating system.
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Separately, Google is facing a class action in the UK over allegations that it unlawfully harvested personal data.
The first hearing in the case - over where it should be heard - is next month.
A group led by the former executive director of consumer body Which?, Richard Lloyd, and advised by City law firm Mischon de Reya is seeking compensation for those it says were affected.
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