Swedish court orders Google to pay €1.3 billion to Klarna's PriceRunner for search bias
A Stockholm court ruled on Wednesday that Google unlawfully favoured its own price comparison service for years, ordering the company to pay 14.3 billion kronor in damages to Klarna-owned PriceRunner.
A Stockholm court has ordered Google to pay 14.3 billion kronor (€1.3 billion) in damages to PriceRunner, the price comparison site owned by fintech Klarna, for illegally favouring its own shopping service in search results. The ruling, delivered by the Patent and Market Court on Wednesday, marks the largest damages ever awarded in a Swedish competition case.
The ruling
The court found that Google unlawfully favoured its own price comparison service for many years, causing harm to PriceRunner. The abuse occurred across PriceRunner's markets in the UK, Sweden and Denmark between 2008 and 2023, although the court noted that part of the claim was brought too late.
In many ways it is a complex and extensive case and the damages awarded are, despite Pricerunner not having succeeded fully with its claim, without doubt the largest ever decided in a Swedish competition case.
Background and EU precedent
The lawsuit followed a series of European Union antitrust actions against Google. In 2017 the European Commission fined Google €2.4 billion for abusing its dominance by demoting rival shopping services in search results. The EU General Court upheld that decision in 2021, and the EU Court of Justice affirmed it again in 2024. PriceRunner filed its damages claim in Stockholm in 2022, arguing that Google continued to violate competition law after the 2017 fine.
The changes Google implemented in 2017 were mostly cosmetic.
Damages and arguments
PriceRunner originally sought significantly higher compensation, including 64 billion kronor in damages and 14 billion kronor in interest, totalling about 78 billion kronor. The court awarded 14.3 billion kronor, far less than the claim but still a record. Google had argued that the infringement ended in 2017, but the court disagreed, finding that the abuse persisted longer.
- Awarded
- 14.3 billion SEK
- Requested
- 78 billion SEK
Market reaction
Shares of Klarna rose by six per cent following the ruling. A Google spokesman said the company does not agree with the decision and will consider its legal options, insisting that changes made to shopping ads in 2017 are working successfully.
We don't agree with the court's decision, we are reviewing and will consider our legal options. The changes we made to shopping ads back in 2017 are working successfully.
Klarna welcomed the outcome. Dan Greaves, head of communications and policy at Klarna, said the ruling would promote healthier competition in product comparison.
This ruling supports a healthier, more competitive market for the way people compare products and services -- and that is good for everyone who shops.
