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Law firms join forces to take on Google in landmark class action
Two firms have teamed up in a class action against Google on behalf of rural publisher The Riverine Grazier, accusing the tech giant of exploiting its dominant position in the digital advertising market.
Grace Robbie
A landmark class action against tech giant Google is set to be launched by rural Australian publisher The Riverine Grazier to challenge the company’s dominance in the digital advertising market.
The case, led by law firms Maurice Blackburn Lawyers and Phi Finney McDonald, seeks compensation for the local publisher, which allegedly “endured years of lower revenues” due to Google’s control over display advertising revenue.
The Google AdTech class action was presented before the Federal Court and heard by Justice Michael O’Bryan last week, with a formal filing anticipated by 14 February.
Maurice Blackburn Lawyers outlined that Google’s advertising technology platforms hold a “dominant” position over the open display advertising industry, facilitating services to both publishers and advertisers.
The lawsuit alleges that Google’s market power in programmatic advertisement auctions has “forced” local publishers to accept “less revenue for the ads they sell” compared to what would be achievable in a more competitive market.
Krista Schade, the general manager of The Riverine Grazier, stressed that the publication represents just a tiny fraction of the “thousands” of publishers affected by Google’s actions.
“The Grazier is just one of many thousands of publishers in Australia and worldwide simply trying to earn fair income from online advertising to support the important job of news publishing, who find themselves stifled by Google’s conduct. That’s why we have stepped forward to lead this action,” Schade said.
“Our online stories are read across the globe, and our website is accessed by readers every single day, yet the remuneration to us from using Google’s services is a pittance. We think it is unfairly low.”
“Google’s practices have affected publishers of all sizes, all over the world. If large news organisations feel powerless, you can only imagine how The Grazier feels. We cannot negotiate with a global power such as Google.”
Miranda Nagy, principal at Maurice Blackburn, explained that The Riverine Grazier case is part of a broader series of similar proceedings initiated in other countries.
“Google’s conduct has been under scrutiny around the world. The potential class action follows similar proceedings in the USA and class actions in the UK Competition Tribunal and Canada, as well as action by regulators,” Nagy said.
“In Australia, an ACCC inquiry into digital advertising in 2021 identified significant competition concerns and considered that Google’s conflicts of interest had led to poor outcomes for publishers.
“The ACCC said that Google engaged in a range of conduct that froze out competitors and entrenched its dominant position, likely interfering with the competitive process. Our case is that this conduct breached competition laws and was unconscionable.”
This news follows Piper Alderman filing a class action on behalf of QNews and Sydney Times Media at the end of December, alleging Google caused the publishers to lose out on high revenue from selling advertising space because of the monopoly it holds in the advertisement technology sector.
