Canadian court certifies class action against Apple over Google search deal
AI-summarised brief · reviewed before publication
A British Columbia Supreme Court judge has certified a class‑action lawsuit that targets Apple for allegedly colluding with Google to keep Google’s search engine as the default on Safari and to inflate advertising rates. The case, filed in 2021 by event‑rental firm Spark Event Rentals, claims Apple accepted billions in revenue‑share payments instead of developing its own search service, thereby reinforcing Google’s monopoly and overcharging Canadian advertisers since 2005. Apple contends the arrangement was a distribution deal and that Google, not Apple, should bear responsibility, dropping Google as a defendant after a dispute over an arbitration clause. The court’s decision permits claims for damages and punitive relief to proceed, though it does not yet find Apple guilty of antitrust violations.
💡 Why It Matters
- · The certification opens the door for Canadian advertisers to hold Apple financially accountable for a decades‑long revenue‑sharing pact that may have entrenched Google’s dominance in online search.
