Swedish Court Orders Google to Pay €1.3 Billion to PriceRunner for Antitrust Abuse

A Swedish court has ordered Google to pay approximately €1.3 billion (14.3 billion SEK) to PriceRunner, a comparison-shopping site owned by Klarna, for illegally favoring its own service in search results. The Stockholm Patent and Market Court ruled that PriceRunner suffered damages from Google's anti-competitive behavior over many years Source: euronewses; Source: infobae.

The ruling

The court found that Google abused its dominant position by promoting its own comparison-shopping tool, a practice that began as early as 2008 in the UK and 2013 in Sweden and Denmark. The judge noted that while PriceRunner did not win its full claim (initially seeking around €7.2 billion), the awarded amount is "the largest ever ordered in a Swedish competition case" Source: infobae.

• Breakdown by market: €91 million (SEK 1B) for Sweden, €90 million (DKK 675M) for Denmark, and €1.1 billion (GBP 950M) for the UK.
• Timeline dispute: Google argued the abuse ended in 2017, but the court found it continued until late 2023, though some claims were time-barred.

The reaction

PriceRunner and Klarna welcomed the decision. Google disagreed, stating it would review the verdict and consider an appeal, pointing to changes made in 2017 to comply with EU requirements Source: euronewses. The case builds on a 2017 European Commission ruling that fined Google €2.42 billion for similar practices, later upheld by the EU's top court in 2024.

The ruling marks a significant victory for PriceRunner, though the final payout may be reduced by taxes and revenue-sharing agreements with former shareholders and litigation funders Source: euronewses.