BERLIN, Germany — Google has been ordered to pay more than €573 million (US$666 million) in damages after a German court ruled that the tech giant abused its dominance in the online price comparison market for over a decade. The landmark judgment is the latest blow in Europe’s long-running antitrust crackdown on the company.
What the court ruled
The Berlin Regional Court found that Google gave unfair advantages to Google Shopping over rival services between 2008 and 2023. As a result, two German platforms — Idealo and Producto — were awarded massive payouts.
- Idealo: €374 million in damages + €91 million in interest
- Producto: €89.7 million in damages + €17.7 million in interest
This brings the total to €573 million.
Both cases stem from a 2024 European Court of Justice ruling that confirmed Google had manipulated search results in favor of its own shopping service — a move that violated EU competition rules and previously resulted in a €2.42-billion fine.
How Idealo and Producto responded
Despite winning the case, Idealo says it’s not finished. The company originally sought €3.3 billion and intends to continue pursuing full compensation.
Idealo co-founder Albrecht von Sonntag said Google’s behavior caused long-term market damage that far exceeds the amount awarded.
“We will continue to fight – because market abuse must have consequences and must not become a lucrative business model,” he said.
Producto, which had sued for €290 million, also secured a significant judgment but echoed concerns about the long-term impact of Google’s dominance.
Google plans to appeal
Google rejected the court’s findings and said it would appeal both rulings.
A spokesperson argued that since 2017, Google has made changes to ensure that comparison-shopping rivals receive equal opportunities on search pages. The company pointed to a jump from seven participating comparison sites in 2017 to 1,550 across Europe today.
“We believe the changes are working well and operate fairly,” the spokesperson said.
The bigger picture
The decision arrives just weeks after the EU opened another investigation into how Google’s spam detection policies may be affecting publishers. Earlier this year, the company was also hit with a €2.95-billion fine for allegedly favoring its own advertising tools.
The latest ruling signals that Europe is broadening its approach — examining not just display rankings, but Google’s wider influence on search visibility, ads, and traffic.
Why this matters
This case could set a major precedent for future lawsuits from other comparison platforms across the EU, many of which claim they were pushed out of the market during Google’s rise.
Even with Google’s appeal, antitrust regulators and rival platforms see the German decision as validation of long-running claims of unfair treatment.
