Google hit with $1.5B Swedish ruling, South Korea charges

Alphabet ↘ 0.48% was ordered by a Swedish court on Wednesday to pay 14.3 billion Swedish kronor — approximately $1.5 billion — in antitrust damages to Klarna's ↘ 3.52% PriceRunner subsidiary, while South Korea's competition regulator separately accused Google of abusing its dominance in the Android app marketplace.

Swedish Court Delivers Record Damages Award

The Patent and Market Court in Stockholm found that PriceRunner suffered harm because Google illegally favored its own price-comparison shopping service in search results over many years. The ruling, delivered on July 1, is the largest competition damages award in Swedish history.thenextweb+2

PriceRunner had filed its lawsuit in 2022, seeking approximately €2.1 billion in damages. The court rejected most of PriceRunner's claims but still awarded the 14.3 billion kronor, which Klarna values at nearly $2 billion once interest is included. The case followed a European Union General Court ruling that Google breached EU antitrust laws through its comparison shopping practices.timesofindia.indiatimes+2

Google can appeal the decision. A spokesperson for Google has previously denied the allegations, and the company is expected to challenge the ruling.

South Korea Alleges App Store Abuse

On the same day, the Korea Fair Trade Commission's Market Surveillance Bureau released an examiner's report alleging that Google abused its dominant position in the Android app marketplace to hinder competition. The regulator said Google's alleged conduct affected approximately 14.16 trillion won, or roughly $9.1 billion, in revenue.finance.yahoo+1

According to Reuters, the KFTC found that Google's "Games/Google Velocity Program," internally known as "Project Hug," provided financial support to game developers in exchange for launching games on Google Play under terms at least as favorable as those offered to rival app stores. If the commission ultimately concludes Google abused its market dominance, it may impose a fine of up to 6% of the relevant affected revenue. Google has eight weeks to submit a written response.reuters+1

Mounting Global Regulatory Pressure

The twin actions add to a growing list of antitrust challenges for Alphabet. In the United States, Judge Amit Mehta ruled in September 2025 that Google must share search data with competitors and end exclusive default agreements, though the company was not required to divest its Chrome browser or Android operating system. Google has indicated it will appeal that ruling. The European Court of Justice also upheld a €4.1 billion EU antitrust fine against the company related to its Android practices. South Korea had previously fined Google 207 billion won in 2021 for blocking customized versions of Android, a decision upheld by a Seoul court in 2024.asiafinancial+2