In 2022, a Swedish court initiated hearings in a case filed by the price comparison subsidiary of Klarna—Pricerunner—against Google. Pricerunner is seeking approximately EUR 8.3 billion in damages, accusing Google of leveraging its market dominance to favor its own shopping comparison service in search results.

The lawsuit follows earlier rulings by the European Commission in 2017 and 2024, which found that Google had breached antitrust rules through preferential treatment of its shopping comparison product. Klarna contends this ongoing market distortion has led to enduring financial harm to Pricerunner’s business.

Economic Impact and Market Control

Klarna’s representatives argue that the damages are grounded in economic analyses of Google’s detrimental practices. The company reports continuous increases in losses due to the alleged unfair advantage, exacerbated by Google’s significant control over online visibility, with more than 90% of European searches conducted through its platform.

Prior to Google launching its own comparison service, independent sites were more prominently featured in search results. However, since the changes, the number of participating price comparison platforms on Google’s shopping service has increased from seven to over 1,500.

Google officials deny these allegations, stating that their actions comply with European competition law and have created fairer conditions for rivals. They argue that the enhancements made in 2017 have led to a greater diversity of platforms on Google’s shopping service.

These proceedings, scheduled to conclude by December 19th, are among the largest competition-related damages claims ever brought against a major technology company in Europe. The outcome may shape future interpretations and enforcement of antitrust rulings in digital markets and methodologies for compensating affected firms.