Frequently Asked Questions
General
This website has been created to inform members of the public about proposed opt-out collective proceedings brought by AGC Collective Actions Limited against Google in relation to its alleged anti-competitive conduct in the display advertising market.
The proposed collective proceedings are against Google and a number of companies within the Google Group: Alphabet Inc., Google LLC, Google Ireland Limited and Google UK Limited. Together, these entities are referred to as “Google”.
AGC Collective Actions Limited alleges that Google has breached competition law by abusing its dominant position in the display advertising market.
In particular AGC Collective Actions Limited alleges that Google has acted in an anti-competitive manner by:
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restricting sources of supply of display advertising. This preferential channeling of demand and supply through their own AdTech tools to the exclusion of other SSPs has distorted the allocation of advertising between buyers and sellers, resulting in advertisers suffering a lower return on their advertising.
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causing advertisers to pay higher prices for the advertising that they have displayed. This has resulted in a reduction in advertisers’ return on advertising spend.
These practices have prevented Google’s competitors from competing, deprived advertisers of the benefit from undistorted competition between ad exchanges and prevented the need for innovation within the market, depriving advertisers from the associated benefits. Google’s conduct has also limited competition and caused for advertisers to be charged higher fees.
AGC Collective Actions Limited has applied to the Competition Appeal Tribunal to act as the class representative in collective proceedings on behalf of all advertisers impacted by Googles actions. If the Tribunal grant AGC Collective Actions Limited permission to act as the class representative, they will bring the claim on your behalf.
KP Law is working with AGC Collective Actions Limited to bring this claim. KP Law is a specialist law firm focusing on group action claims with market leading expertise in competition law across the UK and Europe.
The PCR has arranged for financial arrangements to be put in place to fund the claim by entering into a Litigation Funding Agreement with TR Global Funding X (Jersey) LP.
About Collective Claims
Collective proceedings are a claim brought by an individual class representative on behalf of a group of claimants who have suffered loss as a result of a breach of competition law. Collective proceedings are commonly referred to as class actions, class claims, group claims or a group action.
The Group is known as a ”class” and each claimant within the group are “class members”.
The Claim has been filed at the Competition Appeal Tribunal, commonly referred to as simply the Tribunal. The Tribunal is a specialist judicial body with cross-disciplinary expertise in law, economics, business and accountancy whose function is to hear and decide cases involving competition or economic regulatory issues.
The Tribunal publishes its Rules and Guidance, along with information about what it does, on its website Competition Appeal Tribunal.
Should AGC Collective Actions Limited be authorised to act as the class representative for the proposed claim, they will be responsible for conducting the collective proceedings on behalf of all class members, save those that opt-out of the claim.
AGC Collective Actions Limited would be responsible for communicating with and issuing formal notices to the class members.
AGC Collective Actions Limited will also be responsible for making decisions on the conduct of the claim and, in particular, will evaluate any offer of settlement that Google may make and decide whether to present it to the Tribunal for their approval.
To assist him in this role, AGC Collective Actions Limited has established a consultative group of individuals with experience relevant to the claim. The members of the consultative group are:
- Felipe Thomaz, Associate Professor of Marketing at the Saïd Business School, University of Oxford;
- Dr Cento Veljanovski of Case Associates; and
- Lord Christopher Bellamy KC of Monckton Chambers.
Class Members
The proposed class consist of all UK-domiciled advertisers who, during the relevant period, paid for display advertising services provided by Google (whether they purchased directly or through a media agency) for the open web.
The claim period is ongoing since 1 October 2015.
The relevant date for domicile in relation to the claim will run from the date on which the claim was filed with the Competition Appeal Tribunal – 6 May 2026.
At this stage, class members do not need to do anything.
Updates will be posted on this website at key stages of the claim so that you can stay up to date. These will include updates about developments in the claim and information about any actions that you may be required to take.
In the event that AGC Collective Actions Limited secures compensation for the class, you will need to come forward to claim your share of the damages. Details of how to do this will be uploaded to this website when appropriate.
As a class member, you will not incur any costs by taking part in the claim, nor will you be liable to Google for its costs should the claim be unsuccessful.
If you do not wish to be part of the claim, you will need to actively opt-out once the claim is certified. There will be an option to do this on this website once the claim is certified.
By opting out, you will not be able to receive a payment from this claim if money becomes available. However, you may be able to bring your own separate claim against Google for the same issues.
Further Information
You will receive updates about the progress of this claim by using the Register button above. In addition, this website will also be updated periodically to reflect the progress of the proposed claim.
If you have questions or would like any further information, please use the contact form on this website.