A Swedish court has ordered Alphabet’s Google to pay approximately $2 billion in damages to Klarna following an antitrust lawsuit brought by the Swedish buy-now, pay-later company. The case, which was initiated in 2022, centered on allegations that Google favored its own price-comparison service in search results, disadvantaging Klarna’s subsidiary PriceRunner.
The Patent and Market Court in Stockholm ruled partially in favor of PriceRunner, upholding some of the claims while dismissing others. Klarna described the decision as a positive step toward fostering a more competitive environment for online product and service comparisons. Following the announcement, Klarna’s shares increased by just under 1%, while Google’s stock rose 1.1%.
Google expressed disagreement with the ruling and said it is reviewing the decision and considering further legal options. The company noted that it had made adjustments to its Shopping ads in 2017, which have reportedly supported the growth of comparison-shopping services across Europe.
This ruling adds to a series of legal challenges Google faces over its price-comparison services on the continent. In 2024, the European Union’s highest court upheld a $2.67 billion fine against Google, concluding that the company had abused its dominant market position by promoting its own comparison-shopping platform in search results while demoting competitors’ services.
Following the EU’s fine, numerous European price-comparison companies initiated lawsuits against Google, and several cases remain ongoing. The Stockholm ruling is the latest development in a broader regulatory and legal effort to address concerns over Google’s market behavior in Europe’s digital economy.