The price comparison website Ceneo filed a lawsuit in the District Court in Warsaw for damages against Google in the amount of over PLN 2.3 billion. According to the company, the American giant conducted anti-competitive activities by preferring its own price comparison service in search results. “We strongly disagree with this lawsuit and are considering our options,” Google said in response to questions from the tvn24.pl business editorial team.
On December 23, 2024, Ceneo.pl Sp. z o. o. (an Allegro group company) filed a lawsuit for damages against Google Ireland Limited, Alphabet Inc. in the District Court in Warsaw. and Google LLC (collectively “Google”) – the Allegro Board of Directors announced on Monday in a press release.
Ceneo is demanding compensation for the losses it allegedly incurred as a result of what the company considers anti-competitive practices of Google. They were supposed to involve giving preference to one's own price comparison service in Google search results. In connection with this allegation Ceneo is demanding approximately PLN 2.331 billion in compensationwhich includes losses incurred by the company (approx. PLN 1.716 billion) and interest from 2013 to November 29, 2024 (approx. PLN 615 million).
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Dispute between Ceneo and Google
Ceneo also demands statutory interest on the amount of PLN 2.331 billion from the date of filing the lawsuit to the date of payment.
As the company points out, the compensation calculation is based on the expertise of an independent entity dealing with economic analyzes of antitrust cases, specializing in this type of disputes.
In the announcement, Ceneo indicates that the lawsuit is related to the decision of the European Commission of July 26, 2017, confirmed by the judgment of the Court of Justice of the EU of September 2024, according to which Google, at various times since January 2008, abused the dominant position of its search engine, reducing traffic competitive price comparison websites in favor of Google Shopping.
As emphasized, the dispute concerns only the activities conducted by Ceneo and has nothing to do with the activities of other companies in its Group, including Allegro sp. z o. o
Ceneo's parent company, Allegro.eu, is a Luxembourg joint-stock company.
“We strongly disagree”
“Our Google Shopping remedy has been operating successfully for several years. We invest in formats that support brands, retailers and price comparison sites of all sizes in Poland and Europe. We strongly disagree with this lawsuit and are considering our options.” ” – Google said in a comment sent to the tvn24.pl business editorial office.
Google added that “for years it has been helping users quickly and easily find the products they are looking for and sellers reach potential customers.”
“Our Google Shopping remediation solution has been operating effectively since 2017, generating billions of clicks for over 800 price comparison sites. We are also making additional changes in line with the Digital Markets Act (DMA),” the company wrote.
Monday's lawsuit is another installment of the dispute between Ceneo and Google. March 14 this year The Warsaw District Court, at Ceneo's request, banned the Google search engine from favoring its own price comparison website in search results; the decision was issued as security for Ceneo's claims to refrain from acts of unfair competition before bringing an action against Google.
The court also prohibited Google from displaying unauthorized Ceneo advertisements. “The court's decision is a precedent on a European scale and may encourage comparison websites in other countries to follow Ceneo.pl in the fight for a fair and competitive digital market,” wrote “Dziennik Gazeta Prawna” then.
As Reuters wrote, Google, which currently controls approximately 90 percent the Internet search engine market and 95 percent on mobile devices, it also has legal problems in other countries. In August this year federal court for the district Colombia in the US ruled that the company Google is guilty of creating a monopoly on the internet search engine market.
In turn, the US Department of Justice filed an application to the court demanding Google sales of the Chrome browser and sharing data with competitors, thus wanting to limit Big Tech's monopoly.
The Canadian Competition Authority also approached the court. He demands that Google be forced to sell two online advertising tools and impose a high financial penalty on the company for taking advantage of its dominant market position.
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