Germany orders Google to pay price-comparison site €465m in damages

Google has been ordered to pay the German price comparison portal Idealo about €465 million in damages for antitrust violations, according to a court ruling in Berlin on Friday, reported dpa.

The price comparison engine, which is majority-owned by the Axel Springer media group, had accused Google of abusing its dominant position as a search engine over a period of several years. In doing so, it argued that the US internet giant had favoured its own offers over Idealo.

However, the amount of damages awarded is significantly lower than Idealo's claim. The comparison search engine had originally demanded €3.5 billion, including interest.

Idealo's lawsuit covered the period from 2008 to the end of 2023. Idealo could now claim further damages for the years 2024 and 2025.

In a similar case, Producto GmbH (Testberichte.de) was also awarded damages, amounting €107 million. Neither judgment is yet final. An appeal to the Berlin Court of Appeal is possible in both cases.

Specifically, the issue is that Google has given preference to its own price comparison service in its search results while disadvantaging competing offers.

The lawsuits were based on the high antitrust fine already imposed on Google in this area by the EU Commission in 2017.