Google Reaches Preliminary Settlement in Class Action Brought by Advertisers in 2011
Google reportedly reached a preliminary settlement in a 14-year-old class action lawsuit brought by advertisers by agreeing to pay $100 million.
The lawsuit began in March 2011 and alleged that Google failed to provide the advertisers with promised discounts and charged them for clicks on ads outside the geographic areas they targeted, Reuters reported Friday (March 28).
Although Google agreed to the settlement, the company denied wrongdoing, according to the report.
“This case was about ad product features we changed over a decade ago, and we’re pleased it’s resolved,” said Google spokesman Jose Castaneda, per the report.
The settlement requires a judge’s approval, the report said.
The report attributed the length of the legal battle to the amount of evidence gathered by the two sides and the mediation sessions in which they participated.
In another, separate case, it was reported Tuesday (March 25) that Google successfully convinced a federal judge to dismiss part of a lawsuit accusing the company of misleading investors regarding its digital advertising practices and user privacy protections.
The ruling found that shareholders did not provide sufficient evidence that Google made false statements on its website concerning these issues.
The lawsuit, filed in 2023, alleged that Google manipulated online advertising in its favor through preferential bidding for Google-owned platforms and a network agreement with Meta’s Facebook. Investors argued that Google’s public statements misrepresented the competitive nature of its ad market and auction-based advertising system.
In a third lawsuit, it was reported March 7 that the Department of Justice dropped its bid to force Google to sell its artificial intelligence investments.
The government is still seeking a court order that would compel the tech giant to sell its Chrome browser, following a ruling that Google held an illegal search monopoly.
A Google spokesperson told Reuters at the time that the DOJ’s proposals “continue to go miles beyond the court’s decision and would harm America’s consumers, economy and national security.”
The DOJ and a coalition of state attorneys general sued Google in 2020, alleging that the company engaged in unlawful competitive practices to uphold its search and advertising dominance. A judge sided with prosecutors and will hear evidence in April on how to proceed.
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