Google has to pay the German price comparison portal Idealo around 465 million euros in damages due to antitrust violations.
This was decided by the Berlin Regional Court. The price comparison engine, which is majority owned by the media group Axel Springer, had accused Google of abusing its dominant position as a search engine for years. The US group preferred its own offers over Idealo (file number 16 O 195/19 Kart (2)).
However, the amount of damages awarded is significantly lower than Idealo’s claim. In the lawsuit, the comparison search engine originally demanded 3.5 billion euros from Google as damages including interest. Idealo’s lawsuit related to the period from 2008 to the end of 2023. Idealo could claim further damages for the years 2024 and 2025.
107 million euros in damages in the second case
In a similar case, Producto GmbH (Testbericht.de) was also awarded millions in damages. Here the sum amounts to a good 107 million euros. Both judgments are not yet legally binding. An appeal to the Berlin Chamber of Commerce is possible.
Specifically, the issue is that Google favored its own price comparison service in the search results and at the same time disadvantaged competing offers. The lawsuits were based, among other things, on the high antitrust fine imposed on Google in this area by the EU Commission in 2017.