Google

Arguing the interests of the self-represented applicant and group members are in conflict, Meta and Google are urging a court to shut down a class action accusing the digital giants of breaching competition law by banning cryptocurrency ads on their platforms.

From the ongoing saga of the high-profile Christian Porter action against the ABC to “backyard” litigation testing the serious harm bar, defamation cases made headlines in 2022, with winners and losers alike shelling out millions to lawyers to protect their reputations.

A law firm has dropped plans to bring a second set of class actions alleging Apple and Google engaged in anti-competitive conduct in operating their app stores, but will act as an “agent” for the first-to-file firm.

The ACCC has lost proceedings accusing Google of duping millions of Australians into agreeing to expand the scope of personal information the tech giant could collect and combine for use in targeted advertising. 

Apple has foreshadowed a challenge in the event two law firms seek to work together on a consolidated class action that alleges both Apple and Google engaged in anti-competitive conduct in operating their app stores.

Facebook owner Meta wants to uncover the basis on which crypto tokens have been issued to bankroll a class action over its 2018 ban on cryptocurrency ads, citing the potentially conflicted interests of the self-represented lead applicant.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has dragged Google-owned Fitbit to court for allegedly telling consumers they had to mail in broken devices within 45 days in order to obtain a refund.

Facebook and Google have flagged their intention to seek a stay or declassing order in a class action over a 2018 ban on cryptocurrency ads.

Google has succeeded in blocking a fitness app from registering ‘FitBet’ as a trade mark, with a a Trade Marks Office delegate finding the mark was deceptively similar to the Silicon Valley company’s marks for its popular FitBit wearable devices.

Google has won its appeal of a judgment awarded to gangland lawyer George Defteros that found the tech giant liable for linking to an allegedly defamatory article, with the High Court finding Google was not the publisher of the story.