9to5Mac: BC Court Certifies Class Action vs Apple on Google Deal
9to5Mac reports a B.C. judge certified a class action against Apple over its Google search default deal.
TL;DR
- 9to5Mac reports BC Supreme Court certified class action vs Apple.
- According to 9to5Mac, lawsuit claims Google default deal on Safari hurt competition and raised ad prices.
- According to 9to5Mac, case from 2021 by Spark Event Rentals, Google dropped, now against Apple alone.
9to5Mac reports that a British Columbia Supreme Court judge has certified a class action lawsuit against Apple. The suit claims Apple’s deal making Google the default search engine on Safari limited competition and raised ad prices.
According to 9to5Mac, the case began in 2021 with Spark Event Rentals Ltd. as plaintiff. It originally included both Apple and Google, but Google was dropped after an arbitration issue. Apple is now the sole defendant.
According to 9to5Mac, the plaintiff says Apple and Google conspired to keep Apple out of search. Google paid Apple billions to stay default, so Apple never built its own engine. This let Google charge advertisers more. The class includes Canadian residents who bought Google search ads since 2005.
According to 9to5Mac, Apple called the deal a normal distribution arrangement and said it was an innocent bystander. Justice Thomas noted the evidence was cherry-picked but found enough to proceed as class action. He referenced testimony from Apple execs Eddy Cue and John Giannandrea in the U.S. DOJ case.
According to 9to5Mac, the ruling doesn’t prove wrongdoing. It just lets the allegations, including punitive damages, move forward. No trial date set yet.
The Tea
This is still early days, but the certification shows Canadian courts are willing to let advertisers test whether Apple’s Google payments blocked real competition. If it gains steam, it could add fresh pressure on that revenue-sharing deal even while U.S. remedies are still being sorted.