Google ordered to pay €465 million in damages to German price comparison platform
A Berlin court has ruled that Google must pay German price comparison site Idealo around €465 million ($542 million) in damages for abusing its dominant market position. Another ruling awarded the operator of a separate platform, Producto, €107 million. Both decisions can be appealed, a court spokesperson said.
Idealo, a subsidiary of Axel Springer, said it will continue legal action against Google, emphasizing that “market abuse must have consequences and must not become a lucrative business model that pays off despite fines and damages payments,” co-founder Albrecht von Sonntag said. The company had initially demanded €3.3 billion, including interest, citing alleged abuse of the price comparison market between 2008 and 2023, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
Google rejected the rulings and announced it will appeal. A company spokesperson highlighted changes made in 2017 to allow rival comparison shopping services the same visibility as Google Shopping in search results. “The number of price comparison sites in Europe using the Shopping Unit designed by the remedy has increased from seven to 1,550,” the spokesperson added.
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