A total of 32 European media companies hit Google LLC with a €2.1 billion ($2.3 billion) lawsuit today, alleging that the American search giant’s advertising practices have led to severe financial losses.

The companies come from far and wide – Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Hungary, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain and Sweden – and include the publishing giant Axel Springer and media heavyweight Schibsted.

“The media companies involved have incurred losses due to a less competitive market, which is a direct result of Google’s misconduct,” said the law firms Geradin Partners and Stek, which are representing the coalition. “Without Google’s abuse of its dominant position, the media companies would have received significantly higher revenues from advertising and paid lower fees for ad tech services. Crucially, these funds could have been reinvested into strengthening the European media landscape.”

The group invoked the 2021 lawsuit in which Google agreed to pay $268 million to settle an antitrust lawsuit in France over its business practices in the online advertising market. At the time, Google said it would hire an independent trustee to ensure changes were made regarding the issues flagged by the suit.

This followed a $2.7 billion fine in 2017 when the European Commission said Google had abused its dominant market position to promote Google Shopping. In 2022, the European Union’s second-highest court, the General Court, held up a $4.3 billion fine from 2018 over Google’s business practices in the Android ecosystem.

It’s not only Europe that’s getting expensive for Google in terms of constant accusations of being a monopoly. At home in the U.S., the company has been told numerous times it takes advantage of its dominant position. This has led to calls to break up Google in an effort to enhance competition in a wider market.

As to the recent lawsuit, Google Legal Director Oliver Bethell said the allegations are “speculative and opportunistic,” adding that “Google works constructively with publishers across Europe.” He added on the lawsuit, “We’ll oppose it vigorously and on the facts.”

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