Google hit with $2.3 billion lawsuit by Axel Springer, other media groups

Brussels: Alphabet’s Google was hit with a 2.1-billion-euro ($2.3 billion) lawsuit by 32 media groups including Axel Springer and Schibsted on Wednesday, alleging that they had suffered losses due to the company’s practices in digital advertising.

The move by the group which include publishers in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Hungary, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain and Sweden comes as antitrust regulators also crack down on Google’s ad tech business.

“The media companies involved have incurred losses due to a less competitive market, which is a direct result of Google’s misconduct,” a statement issued by their lawyers Geradin Partners and Stek said.