General
Possible Aussie Class Action Against Google
Nov
A friend of mine who is always in the know about internet related things told me last week that there is a potential class action brewing against the big G (Google).
They said that this was a bit different in that it concerns alleged anti-competitive conduct in the digital advertising market in Australia.
The law firm behind this is Maurice Blackburn – they are one of Australia’s leading “class action” specialists.
Many of our readers display ads either directly or indirectly on their websites, so this could affect you and them.
What is a class action?
Rather than me try to explain it, here’s how Maurice Blackburn describe it:
Often, one individual lacks the resources to take on a large corporation. However, if enough individuals have experienced the same wrongdoing, collectively they can become a powerful force and strong voice for justice.
What is it all about?
Once again, the law firm describes this succinctly:
Maurice Blackburn is investigating a class action against Google for alleged anti-competitive conduct in the display digital advertising market in Australia, where it provides AdTech services to both advertisers and publishers of ads, and has a dominant position at all points of the AdTech supply chain. The class action would seek to recover compensation for publishers of digital ad inventory who have received less revenue for the ad space they sell, than they would have otherwise.
Are you potentially affected?
To find out further information, the best thing is to check out Maurice Blackburn’s “Potential Google AdTech Class Action page”.
They spell out, in simple terms, who and what is potentially affected.
They also have a good FAQ which will answer most questions.
If you are eligible to be part of the class action, it will not cost you a cent to participate – and they will protect your identity. This is from their “expression of interest” page.
Registration is free. You do not need to pay anything to be part of the class action. Client confidentiality and privacy are very important to us. We will keep your details and the fact of registration confidential. In the cases we run, it is common that class members have ongoing business relationships with a powerful defendant, and we understand the commercial sensitivities that may apply.
Other resources
For a more independent point of view of this, Mi3 have published an excellent article along with some great examples of businesses that have potentially been affected.
What an amazing subject header this is!
Maurice Blackburn flags Australian publisher class action against Google for alleged misrepresentation, bid rigging, collusion; $8bn Canadian publisher lawsuit paves way
If you feel like commenting you can do so here on LinkedIn.
