PriceRunner demands 2.1 billion euros from Google for favoring Shopping

Comparison site PriceRunner is claiming 2.1 billion euros in damages in a lawsuit. The lawsuit, filed in the court in the Swedish capital Stockholm, is based on a previous judgment by the European Commission.

PriceRunner claims that Google still disadvantages comparison sites and that the compensation can therefore also be higher. This concerns damage suffered since 2008 in the United Kingdom and since 2013 in Sweden and Denmark. The company has a price comparator in those countries.

The indictment comes as a result of the European Commission’s judgment and multi-billion dollar fine against Google for favoring its own Shopping section in the search engine over that of other websites. That happened in 2017. Thanks to that judgment, individuals and companies who believe they have suffered damage can try to recover this through national courts.

PriceRunner further claims that consumers have been paying too much for years because of the position of Google Shopping, because the prices are said to be higher than at independent price comparison sites. That conclusion comes from the accountancy firm Grant Thornton, which investigated this on behalf of PriceRunner. It is still unknown when the case will serve in Stockholm and how long that will last. PriceRunner has 175 employees.