The Competitors Enchantment Tribunal (CAT) has made an order certifying a £1bn authorized declare towards Google on behalf of UK app builders which have allegedly been overcharged by Google for utilizing its Play Retailer.
Hundreds of companies are poised to obtain compensation for the loss in income suffered on account of Google’s alleged conduct if the declare is profitable.
The choice is the newest in a sequence of setbacks for the tech large and follows important scrutiny of its Play Retailer conduct all over the world, together with by the European Fee, the UK’s competitors watchdog and the US courts.
The authorized declare, introduced by competitors regulation tutorial Professor Barry Rodger, accuses Google of abusing its dominant place to the detriment of 1000’s of UK companies who offered apps on the Play Retailer, often known as Google Play, to Android prospects.
The lawsuit seeks compensation for the losses in income suffered by these companies, lots of whom are SMEs, from August 2018.
The CAT has now revealed a collective proceedings order, following certifying the motion again in March, which confirms its resolution to certify the declare.
The tribunal has authorised Professor Rodger to behave as the category consultant. “The tribunal’s resolution is a big step in direction of guaranteeing redress for small companies within the UK which have misplaced cash by means of Google’s conduct,” he stated.
“Google abuses its Play Retailer monopoly by imposing extreme commissions, harming small enterprise app builders and stifling essential innovation and development within the UK tech panorama.”
Professor Rodger claims that, in a good market, app builders could be paying much less to distribute their apps and promote their digital content material.
The Competitors and Markets Authority (CMA) is presently investigating whether or not to designate Google as having Strategic Market Standing inside its cell ecosystem, together with its app distribution providers.
In March 2025, the CMA held a workshop with app builders, with a number of contributors stating that Google had an “unfair benefit in app improvement innovation”.
Pan-European regulation agency Geradin Companions have been appointed to characterize Professor Rodger in his class motion within the CAT.
The trial is ready to begin in October 2026.
