Google, the subject of a series of compensation lawsuits filed in Europe and the United States, has been forced to pay over $5 billion in damages this year alone.
Google to Pay More Compensation
Last week, the company was forced to settle a $700 million compensation fine in the US. This week, news of a new fine came from Germany. Google was fined €572 million in compensation in Germany. These fines center on accusations of market abuse.
A Berlin court ruled that the company positioned its Google Shopping service favorably in search results compared to its competitors. According to the court ruling, Google was forced to pay approximately €465 million to German price comparison platform Idealo and €107 million to Producto.
In its lawsuit against Google, Idealo accused the company of harming competition by favoring its own services in search results. The company launched this legal battle in February 2025, seeking at least €3.3 billion in damages.
Google, however, defended itself, stating that changes made in 2017 provided rival shopping platforms equal opportunities to display ads through Google Search.
Google has previously faced similar accusations in Europe. The company was accused of biasing Google Flights and Google Hotels in search results, and it was even stated that it would face severe sanctions under the European Union’s Digital Markets Act.
Furthermore, just a month before this decision, the European Commission fined Google approximately €3 billion for its antitrust practices in the advertising technology sector.
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