Google’s European rivals are preparing to claim billions of euros in damages, after the European Commission last week imposed a record fine of €890 million (around €1 billion) on the company for violating the Digital Markets Act (DMA). Legal experts expect the ruling to trigger a wave of civil lawsuits, with total damages claims potentially reaching around €10 billion.
According to lawyers and litigation funders, the European decision strengthens the position of companies that have been arguing for years that Google has abused its market power. The Commission found that Google gave preferential treatment to its own services in search results and restricted app developers in directing users to cheaper payment methods outside the Play Store.
Several companies already have proceedings under way. Last year, the German price comparison platform Idealo was awarded €465 million in damages by a court in Berlin. The Swedish PriceRunner, backed by Klarna, has filed a multi‑billion claim. The Italian Moltiply Group, owner of Trovaprezzi, is seeking €2.97 billion, while the UK-based Kelkoo is likewise pursuing billions in compensation.
Google rejects the claims. According to a spokesperson, the plaintiffs are mainly trying to obtain financial compensation instead of investing in better products.
The new lawsuits come on top of more than €10.4 billion in European competition fines that Google has been hit with in recent years. Moreover, last month the company definitively lost a long-running legal battle over an earlier record fine of €4.1 billion for abusing Android’s dominant position.
Although the DMA is, according to lawyers involved, a powerful tool for curbing the power of big tech companies, the civil proceedings could still drag on for years. Google can also still appeal against the recent DMA fine.
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