Swedish price comparison site files $2.4 billion lawsuits against Google for antitrust violations

• PriceRunner said that Google continues to abuse its dominant position among internet search engines

• In November, the EU body upheld the antitrust verdict imposing a $2. billion fine on Google

Swedish price comparison service PriceRunner has announced that it's suing Google (NASDAQ: GOOGL) for $2.4 billion after a European court ruled that Google breached EU antitrust laws.

The company, which in November agreed to be taken over by Swedish fintech firm Klarna, said that it would be filing a suit against Google over allegations that it manipulated search results in favor of its competing shopping service. 

PriceRunner CEO Mikael Lindahl said the company launched its lawsuit following “extensive and thorough preparations.”

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“We are of course seeking compensation for the damage Google has caused us during many years, but are also seeing this lawsuit as a fight for consumers who have suffered tremendously from Google’s infringement of the competition law for the past fourteen years and still today,” Lindahl said in a statement.

Antitrust guilt

The European Commission found Google guilty of breaching antitrust laws by giving preference to its shopping comparison product, Google Shopping, through its popular search engine.

The Commission imposed a $2. billion fine on the tech giant after seven years of investigation. In November 2021, the decision was upheld by the EU’s General Court.

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PriceRunner alleged Google has not complied with the EU executive body’s ruling and is still abusing its dominant position among internet search engines. It expects the final damages to be “significantly higher” than the interim sum of $2.4 billion.

The company wants Google to pay compensation for profits it lost in the U.K. since 2008, and in Sweden and Denmark from 2013 onward.

Picture Credits: Reuters