Google ordered to pay 14.3 billion SEK in damages for competition abuse

A Swedish court has ordered Google to pay 14.3 billion SEK (around 19 billion SEK including interest) in damages to price comparison service Pricerunner for abusing its dominant market position.

The Patent and Market Court ruled that Google unfairly favored its own comparison service over competitors like Pricerunner, exposing consumers to higher prices instead of the most relevant search results.

Lars Henriksson, professor of legal science, told public broadcaster SVT the record fine sends a strong deterrent signal. “It’s important that such abuse leads to high damages,” he said.

Henrik Larsson, professor of legal science and competitiveness at the Stockholm School of Economics, called the sum “enormous, even for a company like Google.”

Google has three weeks to appeal. A spokesperson said the company disagrees with the ruling and is reviewing its options.