Google hit with new legal threat after record $1 billion EU fine

Google faces a new wave of private antitrust lawsuits across Europe from smaller rivals, including price comparison sites and specialized search firms who demanded up to $1 billion in damages.

The slew of lawsuits has been accelerated and emboldened by recent losses under EU Digital Markets Act in which Google was hit with a $1 billion fine for self-preferencing and app store restrictions.

According to Thomas Hoppner, a partner at Geradin Partners, the finding of ongoing wrongdoing “will trigger a new wave of litigation.”

“Specialised search firms may seek damages, possibly not just ⁠for the period of the DMA but also for the years prior to the DMA breaches under Article 102,” Hoppner added.

Over the past decade, Google has accumulated €10.4 billion in EU regulatory fines.

Individual courts have begun handing down massive payouts, such as a €465 million ($528.9 million) damages award to German price comparison platform Idealo and a $1.97 billion Stockholm court ruling in favor of Sweden's PriceRunner.

Moreover, many companies are also pursuing multi-billion dollar claims including Italy's Moltiply Group seeking €2.97 billion, UK's Kelkoo, and Amsterdam-backed groups financed by litigation firms like LitFin.

Marco Pescarmona, chairman of Moltiply Group, one of the complainants against Google, said the recent DMA decision will strengthen damage claims, arguing, “The DMA is a very good piece of legislation. The defect maybe is that it's so effective that they're afraid to use it.”

However Google rejected such claims. "We strongly disagree with these lawsuits, which are brought by companies looking for a payout instead of investing in their own products," a Google ​spokesperson said.