Many of you have heard of a huge fine Google was issued by the EU recently. Last week, the company got hit with a $1 billion fine for favoring its own services in Search and for restricting app developers on Google Play.
Google’s massive $1 billion EU fine triggered a wave of lawsuits
Having said that, Google’s rivals have started seeking damages following this fine. The company is facing lawsuits from smaller rivals across Europe. Half a dozen lawyers and litigation financiers say that a tally of cases was filed in half a dozen countries… for now.
“I think this will trigger a new wave of litigation,” said Thomas Hoppner, a partner at Geradin Partners. He said that specialized 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. That article is referring to older EU legislation prohibiting companies from abusing a dominant market position.
Google did react to this. The company said that there is no merit in these claims. The company’s spokesperson said the following: “We strongly disagree with these lawsuits, which are brought by companies looking for a payout instead of investing in their own products.”
In the last decade, Google has been hit with over €10 billion in fines in the EU
Thus far, in the last decade, Google has been hit with over €10 billion in fines in the EU. Those fines are in various stages of appeals, and they do not include a €1.5 billion fine from 2019, which ended up being overturned.
We do expect to see more private lawsuits take place following the latest fine, though. Half a dozen are in process, but more will likely pop up in the coming month(s). Google’s lawyers will be quite busy in the EU moving forward, it would seem.
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