After A Record $1 Billion Fine, Google Rivals Are Lining Up to Demand Damages

The loss of the first case launched against Google (GOOGL.O) under new EU rules opens the door to a swarm of private lawsuits asking up to $10 billion in damages, marking the beginning of an expensive new phase in a decades-long crackdown on the company’s innovative fangled business practices in Europe.

According to six lawyers and litigation financiers and a list of complaints filed in six countries, Alphabet’s search powerhouse is now facing lawsuits from smaller competitors throughout Europe after already paying billions of dollars in EU fines since 2017.

The business was fined $1 billion, the first under the Digital Markets Act, for favoring its own services and prohibiting app developers from directing consumers to less expensive options outside of its Google Play app store.

According to attorneys, the discovery of continued misconduct may encourage more parties to file lawsuits. “I think this will trigger a new wave of litigation,” stated Thomas Hoppner, a partner at Geradin Partners, which provided market misuse advice to Idealo, a German price comparison platform.

Idealo received €465 million ($528.9 million) in penalties from a Berlin court in November, the largest sum ever imposed by a German court for an antitrust violation.

According to Hoppner, 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, which refers to previous EU laws that forbid businesses from abusing a dominating market position.

Google stated that the claims are unfounded. A Google representative stated, “We vehemently disagree with these lawsuits, which are brought by companies looking for a payout instead of investing in their own products.”

Alphabet’s free cash flow was negative in the second quarter for the first time as a publicly traded business, and the damages claims coincide with Google’s AI investment binge.