Tech titan Alphabet Inc
In 2017, Alphabet Inc was fined €2.42 billion ($2.76 billion) for anticompetitive practices after a probe found that it had been tailoring its search results to give its own price comparison service an edge over smaller competitors. Alphabet lost its appeal to overturn that fine last November, though if PriceRunner's allegations are to be believed, things haven't changed much in the years that appeal took to process.
"They are still abusing the market to a very high extent and haven't changed basically anything," PriceRunner CEO Mikael Lindahl told Reuters.
Google has since stated that its changes were "working successfully" and that Price Runner, because it hadn't been using Google ads, "[must not] have seen the same successes that others have." PriceRunner, however, is well prepared for a protracted legal battle and has revealed that it managed to secure a war chest of tens of millions of euros in legal funding.
Alphabet is no slouch for the legal gladiatorial ring, having faced many a legal opponent over the years. However, growing antitrust fervor among regulators is becoming increasingly focused on the tech giants such as Alphabet. In addition, competitors are becoming increasingly frustrated and much more willing to resort to legal action, leaving it facing a growing tide of legal pressure.
German price comparison service Idealo (parent company Axel Springer SE,
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission struck a tone that was quite similar, finding early last year that Google and Apple's