Alphabet's Google is facing a class action lawsuit in the United Kingdom seeking up to £5 billion ($6.6 billion) in damages. The suit, filed at the Competition Appeal Tribunal by competition law expert Or Brook and represented by law firm Geradin Partners on behalf of hundreds of thousands of UK-based businesses, alleges that Google abused its dominant position in the online search and search advertising markets. The claim asserts that from January 2011, Google overcharged advertisers by restricting competition, including through agreements with smartphone manufacturers to pre-install Google Search and Chrome on Android devices, and by paying Apple to make Google the default search engine on iPhones. The lawsuit also alleges that Google ensured its advertising tools, such as Search Ads 360, offered better functionality for its own products compared to competitors. Or Brook stated, 'Google has been leveraging its dominance in the general search and search advertising market to overcharge advertisers.' According to the claimants, Google accounted for about 90% of UK search ad revenue and was used by more than 200,000 UK businesses for advertising. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), the UK's antitrust regulator, began an investigation into Google's search services and their impact on advertising markets in January. Google has denied the allegations, describing the case as 'speculative and opportunistic,' and stated it will vigorously defend against the lawsuit. The company maintains that consumers and advertisers use Google because it is helpful, not due to a lack of alternatives.