By AFP
October 20, 2025
Image: — © AFP GREG BAKER
A Swedish court began hearing arguments Monday in a lawsuit brought by Swedish price comparison site Pricerunner, owned by Klarna, against tech giant Google for over $8 billion for promoting its own shopping comparisons in search results.
The Swedish tech startup filed its suit with the Patent and Market Court in Stockholm in 2022, following a European Union General Court ruling that Google “breached EU antitrust laws by manipulating search results in favour of their own comparison shopping services.”
Originally, Pricerunner said it was suing Google for around $2 billion but said at the time it expected the “final damages amount of the lawsuit to be significantly higher”, given that “the violation is still ongoing.”
In a statement, Swedish fintech giant Klarna — which acquired Pricerunner in 2022 — noted that the European Commission already ruled in 2017 “that Google had violated competition law by favouring its own shopping service.”
“The European Court of Justice upheld the ruling in 2024. Klarna is now demanding compensation in accordance with the ruling,” it added.
“We’re seeking approximately 78 billion kronor ($8.3 billion), based on economic analysis of losses incurred,” Klarna spokesman John Craske told AFP in an email Monday.
Craske added that the damages sought continued to “grow daily”.
The lawsuit comes after European authorities determined favoured its own comparison shopping service in search results – Copyright ${image.metadata.node.credit}
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Klarna said in a statement on Friday that “to reach consumers online, you need to be visible in search results. And that’s where Google has almost complete power,” noting that over 90 percent of searches in Europe go through Google’s platform.
It also said that prior to Google launching its own price comparison service, independent price comparison sites were shown high up in search results.
According to the court, Google is arguing that “it has not abused its dominant position following the Commission’s decision and that Pricerunner has not suffered any damage whatsoever.”
AFP has reached out to Google for comment but has not received a reply.
The trial is scheduled to last until December 19.
Bad Google search results cost consumers up to $616 per click
By Dr. Tim Sandle
SCIENCE EDITOR
By Dr. Tim Sandle
SCIENCE EDITOR
DIGITAL JOURNAL
October 21, 2025
Photo illustration: — © Digital Journal
With many consumers struggling financially and the courts allowing Google’s monopolistic practices to continue largely unchecked, the finance company WalletHub has released a case study highlighting the impact on the U.S. population.
READ MORE: As Google seeks to take more data, WalletHub leads the business countermand
For this, WalletHub analysed how the top credit card recommended by each of the websites on the first page of Google search results for “best 0 APR credit cards” compares to the best 0% credit card on the market.
Here’s what WalletHub’s research revealed:$341: Average cost of trusting the top recommendations from the websites Google ranks on the first page of search results.
$266: Average cost of following biased recommendations from credit card companies on the first page of search results.
$568: Cost of following the top-ranking Reddit page’s recommendations.
$616: Cost of following the worst option on the first page of Google results.
37: WalletHub’s ranking despite recommending the best 0% credit card on the market, which can save people $108 – $616 compared to the page 1 sites’ top results.
Commenting on the findings, Odysseas Papadimitriou, WalletHub CEO explains in a statement sent to Digital Journal: “Google results have gone so far downhill, they’re practically underwater, and it’s costing people a lot of time and money – especially those who mistakenly believe the top results are still the best results.”
Contextualising the output, Papadimitriou relates the findings thus: “Just put yourself in the shoes of someone searching for the “best 0% APR credit cards” in the hopes of making a big-ticket emergency expense more affordable. If you search on Google and apply for the top card recommended by the sites listed on the first page, you could end up spending over $600 more than necessary.” This brings with it consequences: “With household budgets stretched as thin as they are right now, that’s simply unacceptable. Most people don’t have an extra $600 to throw around, so the next time you come up short, you might want to blame Google.”
This has an adverse impact, as demonstrated by: “A lot of people assume Google’s incentives are aligned with their own, but that’s just not true anymore. Google wants to maximize profits, regardless of the impact on users. Individual searchers need to take a similarly self-centred approach, by not taking Google’s rankings as a value judgment and doing the research to maximize their own savings. Finding specific sources you trust is a big part of this, as is doing a bit more than simply picking the first product recommended by the first search result you see.
Papadimitriou concludes, observing: “It’s disappointing, but you simply can’t count on Google anymore.”
October 21, 2025
Photo illustration: — © Digital Journal
With many consumers struggling financially and the courts allowing Google’s monopolistic practices to continue largely unchecked, the finance company WalletHub has released a case study highlighting the impact on the U.S. population.
READ MORE: As Google seeks to take more data, WalletHub leads the business countermand
For this, WalletHub analysed how the top credit card recommended by each of the websites on the first page of Google search results for “best 0 APR credit cards” compares to the best 0% credit card on the market.
Here’s what WalletHub’s research revealed:$341: Average cost of trusting the top recommendations from the websites Google ranks on the first page of search results.
$266: Average cost of following biased recommendations from credit card companies on the first page of search results.
$568: Cost of following the top-ranking Reddit page’s recommendations.
$616: Cost of following the worst option on the first page of Google results.
37: WalletHub’s ranking despite recommending the best 0% credit card on the market, which can save people $108 – $616 compared to the page 1 sites’ top results.
Commenting on the findings, Odysseas Papadimitriou, WalletHub CEO explains in a statement sent to Digital Journal: “Google results have gone so far downhill, they’re practically underwater, and it’s costing people a lot of time and money – especially those who mistakenly believe the top results are still the best results.”
Contextualising the output, Papadimitriou relates the findings thus: “Just put yourself in the shoes of someone searching for the “best 0% APR credit cards” in the hopes of making a big-ticket emergency expense more affordable. If you search on Google and apply for the top card recommended by the sites listed on the first page, you could end up spending over $600 more than necessary.” This brings with it consequences: “With household budgets stretched as thin as they are right now, that’s simply unacceptable. Most people don’t have an extra $600 to throw around, so the next time you come up short, you might want to blame Google.”
This has an adverse impact, as demonstrated by: “A lot of people assume Google’s incentives are aligned with their own, but that’s just not true anymore. Google wants to maximize profits, regardless of the impact on users. Individual searchers need to take a similarly self-centred approach, by not taking Google’s rankings as a value judgment and doing the research to maximize their own savings. Finding specific sources you trust is a big part of this, as is doing a bit more than simply picking the first product recommended by the first search result you see.
Papadimitriou concludes, observing: “It’s disappointing, but you simply can’t count on Google anymore.”
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