Google must pay German price comparison platform Idealo roughly €465 million ($542 million) in damages for abusing its dominant market position, a Berlin court has ruled. The decision, which stems from two separate cases, found the U.S. tech giant had engaged in anticompetitive practices. Both rulings are subject to appeal, a court spokesperson told Reuters.
In addition to Idealo, the operator of another German price comparison site, Producto, will receive €107 million in damages.
Idealo — a subsidiary of German media group Axel Springer — said the ruling strengthens its determination to pursue further legal action. “We will continue to fight – because market abuse must have consequences and must not become a lucrative business model that pays off despite fines and damages payments,” said Idealo co-founder Albrecht von Sonntag.
Idealo had originally sought €3.3 billion, including interest, accusing Google of systematically disadvantaging rival comparison-shopping services between 2008 and 2023.
Google strongly rejected the decision and confirmed it will appeal. The company said it implemented changes in 2017 to ensure that competing shopping services received the same opportunities as its own Google Shopping product in search results.
“The changes we made in 2017 have proven successful without intervention from the European Commission,” a Google spokesperson said, noting that the number of price comparison services using the remedy-designed Shopping Unit had grown from 7 to 1,550.
($1 = €0.8575)
Bd-pratidin English/ Jisan
