Moltiply seeks nearly €3 billion in damages from Google

Moltiply Group, which controls several price comparison sites, announced that its subsidiary 7Pixel, which operates the price comparison service Trovaprezzi.it, has notified several entities of the Google group of a follow-on request for damages for the abuse of a dominant position that favored Google Shopping between 2010 and 2017, as confirmed by the European Court of Justice in September 2024. The amount of damages estimated by the experts appointed by 7Pixel, including the structural effects of the abuse and interests, is equal to 2.97 billion euros, according to a note.

"The changes made in 2017 following the European Commission's decision are working as expected, so much so that the number of shopping comparison sites in Europe using our shopping solutions has multiplied from just 7 to over 1,550, without any intervention from the Commission.

We strongly disagree with these exorbitant private claims for damages, which ignore the success and growth of this sector", says a Google spokesperson. To avoid a huge fine (2.4 billion) threatened by the EU for abuse of a dominant position 8 years ago, the American giant changed its face and made other comparison services visible at the top of the search page, auctioning off the spaces and letting Google Shopping participate like everyone else.