UK Music CEO Michael Dugher has welcomed the decision by Google to suspend Viagogo as an advertiser.

This follows Viagogo’s refusal to comply with the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) order over treatment of their customers. This comes a day before Viagogo are due to respond to contempt of court action launched by the CMA.

Earlier this month Mr Dugher reiterated his call for Google to protect customers from rip-off ticket prices and to remove Viagogo as an advertiser appearing at the top of most Google searches for concert tickets.

UK Music has called for more action from Google to curb Viagogo’s prominence on the search engine as long ago as February 2018.

Commenting, UK Music CEO Michael Dugher said:

“UK Music has long urged everyone to say no to Viagogo. We are delighted that Google is finally bowing to public pressure and taking action.

“Google is the first port of call when most music fans search for tickets and they have a responsibility to ensure its customers are not misled into paying over the odds for gigs and festivals.

“This is an important victory for campaigners including UK Music, FanFair Alliance, Culture Minister Margot James and cross-party MPs like Nigel Adams and Sharon Hodgeson. This development and further legal proceedings against Viagogo marks a huge turning point in the battle to tackle exploitative touts.”