A Swedish court has ordered Alphabet's Google to pay approximately SEK 14.3 billion, equivalent to around EUR 1.4 billion, to PriceRunner, the price comparison service owned by Sweden-based payments platform Klarna. The court found that Google had favoured its own shopping comparison service in search results, to the detriment of competing platforms.
Largest damages award in a Swedish competition case
According to a court official, the award is the largest granted in a Swedish competition case to date, even though PriceRunner did not receive the full amount it had claimed. PriceRunner had sought around SEK 78 billion, or roughly EUR 7.5 billion, including accrued interest. Klarna said that once interest is applied to the awarded sum, the total value amounts to approximately EUR 1.8 billion.
Case background
PriceRunner filed the lawsuit against Google in 2022, initially seeking around EUR 2.1 billion in damages and alleging that the company had manipulated search rankings to disadvantage rival comparison shopping services. The claim sought compensation for profits PriceRunner said it had lost in the UK since 2008, and in Sweden and Denmark since 2013. Klarna acquired PriceRunner in 2022.
Wider regulatory context
Google began giving greater prominence to its own shopping comparison service in search results in 2008, a practice that reduced traffic to competing platforms. In 2017, the European Commission fined Google for abusing its dominant market position through its shopping comparison service, a decision Google unsuccessfully appealed in 2021. Since then, several companies affected by the practice have pursued damages claims against Google across Europe. In November 2025, a court in Germany ordered Google to pay EUR 465 million to price comparison platform Idealo and EUR 107 million to another German platform, Producto. Cases brought by comparison shopping companies Kelkoo and Foundem are ongoing in the UK, while Italy-based Moltiply Group, which operates Trovaprezzi.it, filed a separate lawsuit in May 2025 seeking EUR 2.97 billion in damages.
Outlook
A Google spokesperson said the company had made changes to its shopping advertising since 2017, adding that it disagreed with the court's decision and was reviewing its legal options. Klarna welcomed the ruling but is unlikely to receive payment in the near term, as Google retains the right to appeal. Klarna's legal counsel indicated that an appeal process could take more than a year, and potentially several years, to conclude. Following the ruling, Alphabet shares fell by around 0.4% in premarket trading in the US, while Klarna shares rose by approximately 7.5%.
