Google Ordered to Pay Rp 10.7 Trillion for Anti-Competitive Practices in Germany

JAKARTA - A Berlin court ruled that Google must pay 572 million euros, or approximately 665 million US dollars (more than Rp10.7 trillion), to two German companies for allegedly abusing its dominant position in the price comparison service market through Google Shopping.

According to a first report from Reuters, Google was ordered to pay approximately 465 million euros (approximately 540 million US dollars) to Idealo and 107 million euros (approximately 124 million US dollars) to Producto, both German-based price comparison platforms. The court stated that Google had given Google Shopping preferential treatment in search results, thereby harming competitors.

Idealo sued Google in February 2025, accusing the tech giant of abusing its market dominance and seeking at least 3.3 billion euros (more than 3.8 billion US dollars) in damages. Idealo argued that Google's practices gave its services an unfair advantage and hindered the growth of competitors.

Google denies the allegations and claims to have made changes since 2017 to give other shopping platforms equal opportunity to display ads through Google Search.

However, Idealo asserted that it would continue to press Google legally. In a press release, the company stated that the court's award amount "represents only a small fraction of the actual damages."

Idealo founder and advisory board member, Albrecht von Sonntag, stated that abuse of market dominance must be met with consequences to prevent it from becoming a business model that remains profitable despite fines and prosecution.

Google's Legal Issues in Europe

This case is not Google's first run-in with regulators and the law in Europe. In addition to Google Shopping, the company has also been accused of prioritizing Google Flights and Google Hotels in search results, which has led the European Union to threaten substantial fines under the Digital Markets Act (DMA).

Just a month earlier, the European Commission also fined Google nearly €3 billion (over US$3.4 billion) for its anticompetitive practices in the advertising technology industry.