Google AdTech Class Action

Google AdTech Class Action

Piper Alderman and Woodsford are pursuing a class action against Google for alleged misuse of market power in the provision of its AdTech services to Australian publishers in the digital display advertising market. AdTech refers to services in providing automated buying and selling of open display advertising (programmatic advertising). The action is on behalf of publishers who had websites or apps and sold advertising space using Google’s platforms targeted at Australian consumers, including:

1. Google Ad Manager (GAM);
2. Doubleclick for Publishers (DFP);
3. Google Ad Exchange (AdX); and
4. Google AdSense or AdMob.

The class action alleges that without Google’s abuse of market power, publishers would have had significantly higher revenues from advertising and paid lower fees for advertising services.

Google’s substantial market power and conduct has been the subject of regulatory investigation and scrutiny by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) which released its report in August 2021. The ACCC found that “Google is the largest supplier of ad tech services across the entire ad tech supply chain: no other provider has the scale or reach across the ad tech supply chain that Google does.’ The ACCC concluded from its investigations that Google engaged in self-preferencing conduct which likely interfered with the competitive process and, over time, lessened competition for the supply of ad tech services. The lack of effective competition harms publishers and advertisers.

Google’s conduct has also been the subject of widespread scrutiny by regulatory authorities in the USA, Canada, UK, France, and at European Union level.

Register your interest

To be eligible for the class action, within the last six years you must:

1. have had a website or app that sells ad space targeted to Australian consumers;
2. sold ad space programmatically using Google’s AdTech services, including Google Ad Manager (GAM), Doubleclick for Publishers (DFP), Google Ad Exchange (AdX), Google AdSense or AdMob.

You are still eligible to register your interest if you sold ad space using a third party (who acted for you to sell your ad space).

You can register your interest by clicking here.

We recommend that you register your interest in the class action to ensure that you receive any updates on your ability to claim compensation. Your details and registration will be kept confidential and a link to our privacy policy is here. There are no obligations imposed on you and no costs payable for registering your interest.

The class action is being funded by Woodsford, which means that you will not be required to pay any money to be part of the claim or to receive compensation.

Contact

If you have any questions please email [email protected] and we will respond to you as soon as possible.