Swedish court orders Google to pay $1.5 billion in antitrust damages to PriceRunner

Alphabet's Google has been ordered by a Swedish court to pay approximately 14.3 billion Swedish crowns ($1.5 billion) in antitrust damages to PriceRunner, a price comparison company. The Stockholm Patent and Market Court ruled that Google illegally favored its own price comparison service over many years, causing significant damage to PriceRunner.

The court's decision stems from a lawsuit filed by PriceRunner in 2022, in which the company sought around 2.1 billion euros ($2.4 billion). PriceRunner accused Google of breaching antitrust laws by manipulating its search results to give preferential treatment to its own comparison shopping services, thereby disadvantaging competitors.

This ruling represents a major victory for PriceRunner and a significant financial penalty for Google. The court's statement explicitly noted that PriceRunner "is considered to have suffered damage as a result of Google having illegally favoured its price comparison service for many years."

The case highlights ongoing scrutiny of major tech companies regarding their market practices and potential anti-competitive behavior. The substantial damages awarded underscore the court's finding of illegal favoritism by Google in the price comparison market.

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PriceRunner is considered to have suffered damage as a result of Google having illegally favoured its price comparison service for many years.