Google has been ordered to pay German price comparison company Idealo around 465 million euros in damages for violating competition rules, according to a ruling by a Berlin court.
Idealo, which is largely controlled by the Axel Springer media group, has accused Google of abusing its dominant position as a search engine. According to the company, Google has prioritized its own offerings in search results, putting its competitors at a disadvantage.
In the lawsuit, Idealo had requested a significantly higher amount of around 3,5 billion euros, including interest. B92.net reports that, in addition to this company, the German platform Producto / Testberichte.de has also won a lawsuit against Google, with the court estimating the damage at 107 million euros.
However, the decisions are not yet considered final, as Google has the right to appeal to the Berlin Court of Appeal.
These antitrust claims are related to the previous imposition of sanctions by the European Commission in 2017, when Google was convicted of similar favoritism practices in search results.
