Klarna unit sues Google for $8.3b over shopping search dominance

A Swedish court began hearings on October 20 for an US$8.3 billion lawsuit filed by Pricerunner, owned by Klarna, against Google over claims the tech giant promoted its own shopping comparison service in search results.

Pricerunner, a Swedish price comparison site acquired by Klarna in 2022, filed the suit after the European Union General Court ruled that Google breached EU antitrust laws by favoring its own comparison shopping service.

The case follows a 2017 European Commission decision against Google, which was upheld by the European Court of Justice in 2024.

Klarna said the damages sought are based on economic analysis of losses, and are increasing daily.

Google opposes the lawsuit and argued its changes since 2017 have led to more competition among price comparison sites in Europe.

The trial is expected to run until December 19.

🔗 Source: Agence France-Presse

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

Private antitrust damages in the EU remain unpredictable despite precedent

Pricerunner seeks €8.3 billion, up from $2 billion in 2022, citing ongoing harm as Google’s self-preferencing (promoting its own shopping results over rivals) continues.
The European Commission fined Google €2.42 billion in 2017, courts upheld the violation in 2024, yet no private case of this size has reached final judgment 1 2.
Berlin-based comparison site idealo seeks €3.3 billion before the Berlin regional court, and earlier filings say the amount could rise after disclosure 3 1.
Google says its 2017 remedies work 2. It counts a rise in sites using its Comparison Shopping Services (CSS) in Europe from seven to 1,550, while critics like idealo’s founder say the measures push rivals to act as Google agents 2.

E-commerce platforms and adtech providers should target CSS partners as Google faces legal pressure

Merchants using CSS partners can cut cost-per-click by up to 20% versus Google Shopping, which creates room for advertising technology (adtech) firms and performance agencies to build CSS tools 4.
Legal questions around Google’s Shopping power will linger through at least December 19, 2025, when the Pricerunner trial ends, so Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) providers can build products that let merchants spread spend across multiple CSS partners.
The Digital Markets Act (DMA) is an EU law for “gatekeeper” platforms, now enforced on Google, which creates openings for comparison shopping platforms and retailers seeking alternatives 2. Idealo’s founder says Alphabet (Google’s parent company) gets about 60% of revenue from Product Listing Ads (PLAs) 2.