A Stockholm court on July 1 ordered Google to pay almost US$2 billion to PriceRunner, Klarna’s comparison-shopping unit, for abuse of dominance in comparison shopping.

The Patent and Market Court dismissed most of PriceRunner’s 80 billion Swedish kronor (US$8.2 billion) claim, but Judge Linda Kullberg said the award was the largest in a Swedish competition case.

Google said it disagreed with the ruling and would consider its legal options.

PriceRunner, which Klarna acquired in 2022, operates in the Nordics and the UK.

The dispute stems from the European Commission’s 2017 Google Shopping ruling, later upheld by the European Union’s top court in 2024.

The decision found Google had abused its dominance in general search by favoring its own comparison-shopping service and demoting rival price-comparison sites.

The Swedish judgment adds to follow-on claims elsewhere in Europe, including a Berlin court award of about 465 million euros (US$530 million) to Idealo and a French award of 51.5 million euros (US$58.7 million) to Twenga.

🔗 Source: Bloomberg

Recent Google developments