Ceneo, a subsidiary of Polish e-commerce giant Allegro, has filed a lawsuit against Alphabet Inc., the parent company of Google, and its subsidiaries Google Ireland and Google LLC. The lawsuit seeks damages of 2.33 billion zlotys (approximately $568 million), accusing the tech giant of anti-competitive practices that allegedly harmed Ceneo’s business by prioritizing its own price comparison service in search engine results.
Ceneo, which operates as an online price comparison service, claims that Google’s preferential treatment of its own shopping platform has caused significant financial damage to its operations in Poland and across Europe. The company argues that Google’s dominance in search engine results has unfairly diverted traffic away from Ceneo, undermining its competitive standing in the market.
In a statement, Google expressed its disagreement with the lawsuit and confirmed that it is considering its options. “Our Shopping remedy has been working successfully for several years,” a Google spokesperson said, referring to changes the company implemented following earlier antitrust rulings. “We continue to invest in formats that support brands, retailers, and comparison shopping sites of all sizes across Poland and Europe.”
The lawsuit seeks compensation for losses of 1.72 billion zlotys incurred by Ceneo, as well as interest payments of approximately 615 million zlotys from 2013 until November 29, 2024. Ceneo has also requested statutory interest on the total damages from the filing date until the payment is made.
This legal action is closely linked to the European Union’s previous $2.7 billion antitrust fine imposed on Google. The EU penalized Google for using its dominant position in the search engine market to unfairly advantage its own price comparison service over smaller competitors. Ceneo’s lawsuit seeks to address the ongoing harm allegedly caused by Google’s practices and to secure compensation for the years of financial loss.
The lawsuit represents a significant challenge to Google’s market practices and further intensifies the global scrutiny surrounding the company’s dominance in various digital markets. Allegro’s move could have implications for how big tech companies operate in the European Union, especially in the increasingly competitive e-commerce and digital services sectors.
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