Google Faces $10 Bn Lawsuit Wave After Landmark EU Antitrust Loss

Google is facing a fresh wave of lawsuits from smaller rivals across Europe after losing the first case brought against it under the European Union's Digital Markets Act. The rivals are together seeking damages of up to $10 billion, according to a Reuters report.

The trigger was a $1 billion fine imposed on Google for favouring its own services and blocking app developers from directing users to cheaper alternatives outside its Google Play app store. This was the first fine issued under the DMA, a newer EU law aimed at curbing the market power of large technology companies.

Lawyers and litigation financiers told Reuters that the ruling could push more companies to sue. "I think this will trigger a new wave of litigation," said Thomas Hoppner, a partner at Geradin Partners, which represented German price comparison platform Idealo in a separate market abuse case.

A Berlin court had awarded Idealo €465 million ($528.9 million) in damages in November, the largest sum ever awarded by a German court in an antitrust case.

Hoppner said specialised search firms may now seek damages not just for violations under the DMA, but also for years before the law came into effect, citing Article 102, an older EU rule that bars companies from abusing a dominant market position.

Responding to the claims, a Google spokesperson told Reuters, "We strongly disagree with these lawsuits, which are brought by companies looking for a payout instead of investing in their own products."

A Long History Of EU Fines

The new claims add to €10.4 billion in EU fines imposed on Google over the past decade. The trouble traces back to 2008, when Google began promoting its own comparison shopping service within search results, causing traffic to rival platforms to fall sharply. This led to complaints and an EU investigation, which resulted in a €2.42 billion fine in 2017. Google challenged the ruling but lost at Europe's top court last year.

Britain's Foundem has pursued its claim since the case began. Sweden's PriceRunner, backed by Klarna, filed a multibillion-dollar suit in 2022 after Google's appeal was rejected. In July, a Stockholm court ordered Google to pay roughly $1.97 billion, including interest, in the PriceRunner case. Klarna welcomed the ruling but said it does not expect to recover the amount soon.

UK based Kelkoo, which is separately seeking billions of pounds in damages linked to the 2017 shopping service ruling, said the recent DMA decision could strengthen its case. "We expect these to be impacted somewhat by the DMA decision because it shows that Google is still self-referencing even to this day," said Kelkoo chief executive Richard Stables.

Litigation financing firm LitFin, which is backing two groups suing Google in Amsterdam over its shopping auctions for more than $1 billion combined, echoed the view. "There are already a lot of these claims being filed, and probably more that are being prepared," said Matej Pardo, the firm's chief operating officer.

Italy's Moltiply Group, which runs price comparison site Trovaprezzi.it, is seeking €2.97 billion in damages. Its chairman, Marco Pescarmona, said the DMA ruling would likely support such claims, though he questioned whether EU regulators would fully enforce the law if Google continues to not comply.

Lawyers said Google may still challenge the DMA fine, and litigation could take years to resolve. In the shopping case, nearly two decades passed between the original allegations and the exhaustion of Google's appeals.

Pardo said such delays work in Google's favour, calling the fines "a cost of doing business," and adding that some cases could take up to eight years to conclude.

Last month, Google also lost a long-running challenge against a €4.1 billion EU fine over its Android operating system, marking its sixth major antitrust penalty in Europe.