German Court Rules Google Must Pay €572m For Violating Antitrust Rules In Price Comparison Sector

In Brief

A German tribunal has recovered that Google has abused its ascendant marketplace position successful nan value comparison assemblage and ruled that nan institution must salary a full of €572 cardinal ($665.6 million) successful damages to 2 German value comparison companies, according to a report by Reuters.

Google must salary nan value comparison level Idealo astir €465 cardinal (about $540 million) successful damages, and €107 cardinal (about $124 million) to Producto, different value comparison tool, nan study said.

Idealo had claimed damages of €3.3 cardinal from Google, arguing that its suit was a nonstop consequence to nan European Court of Justice’s ruling successful 2024 that recovered nan hunt elephantine was self-preferencing its ain shopping comparison service, breaking title rules, and fined it astir $2.7 billion.

Idealo said connected Friday that it intends to proceed its lawsuit against Google and activity nan afloat damages it had sued for.

“We invited nan tribunal of Google holding accountable. But nan consequences of self-favoring spell acold beyond nan magnitude awarded. We will proceed to conflict – because marketplace maltreatment must person consequences and must not go a lucrative business exemplary that is worthwhile contempt fines and compensation payments,” Idealo’s co-founder and CEO Albrecht von Sonntag said successful a statement.

Google whitethorn entreaty nan ruling, nan study added.

The ruling follows adjacent connected nan heels of an EU investigation into really Google’s spam argumentation affects publishers’ hunt rankings. The institution was precocious fined €2.95 cardinal (just nether $3.5 billion) by nan EU for allegedly breaching EU antitrust rules by favoring its ain advertizing services.

Google did not instantly respond to a petition for comment.

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