Google Appeals $2B Class Action Alleging It Displayed ‘Non-Consensual’ Ads on Small Business Websites

Google Ads Class Action Lawsuit Summary:

• Who: Google quickly appealed a recent ruling in a class action lawsuit filed by a group of small business owners.
• Why: The tech giant wants an appellate court to review the businesses owners’ claims that Google showed large, unauthorized ads on their websites to Android users, raking in billions.. 
• Where: The appeal, if accepted, will bring the class action to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Google has launched a rapid appeal after the green light was given to a $2 billion class action lawsuit alleging the search giant illegally showed ads on millions of small businesses’ websites without their consent.

On Oct. 29, Google filed a motion to appeal after a California federal court gave the go-ahead to a class action lawsuit lodged against the tech giant by small business owners Best Carpet Values and Thomas D. Rutledge.

The class action was given approval to move forward on Sept. 24. 

However, Google is asking for the case to go to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals “before substantial resources are spent litigating these novel claims on behalf of potentially tens of millions of website owners in the United States.”

Google Ads Displayed Without Website Owner Consent, Claims Class Action Lawsuit

The class action was first filed in July 2020. In it, plaintiffs allege that Google illegally displayed ads on websites found through its search app on Android phones in a form of “non-consensual free-riding.”

The plaintiffs say, in some cases, the ads were for competing businesses, and, when expanded, typically took up 10 to 90 percent of their webpages.

Plaintiffs Best Carpet Value and employment lawyer Thomas D. Rutledge say the illegal ads redirected website browsers from their websites to those who were paying Google. They allege that Google reaped more than $2 billion from the ads. 

They’re suing for breach of contract law, unfair business practices and violations of the California Unfair Competition Law.

In response, Google issued an update to its app in April 2020 that stopped the practice of showing non-consensual ads on websites, according to court documents. 

In its motion to appeal, the tech giant said it was prudent to see if the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals agrees with the lower court’s decision sooner rather than later.

“It makes sense to find out if the Ninth Circuit disagrees before years are wasted in what will almost certainly be hard-fought and even more complex litigation,” contended Google’s motion. 

Google ads have resulted in more legal action for the tech giant. According to recently unsealed court documents in an antitrust lawsuit lodged by multiple states, Google charged two to four times more than competitors for ad space.

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The proposed class is represented by Alexander H. Schmidt.

The Google Non-consensual Ads Class Action Lawsuit is Best Carpet Values Inc. et al. v. Google LLC, Case No. 5:20-cv-04700, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. 

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