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Systematic price search? Klarna accuses Google of market manipulation
What happens when a tech giant like Google puts its digital thumb on its own products - and pushes other providers out of the game? According to a report by onlinemarktplatz.de, this is exactly what Klarna no longer wants to accept. In October 2025, the Swedish payment provider initiated a lawsuit for damages against Google - and is demanding a whopping 7.1 billion euros.
The allegation: Google is said to have systematically pushed its own "Google Shopping" service to the top of the search results in recent years - and thus put competitor portals such as Pricerunner, which Klarna acquired in 2022, in a much worse position. The result: fewer clicks, fewer users, less revenue. For Klarna, this is about more than just money - it is about the question of whether fair competition on the internet is still possible at all.
And Klarna is relying on a clear legal basis: back in 2017, the EU Commission fined Google billions for precisely this practice. The European Court of Justice confirmed the ruling in 2024 - which Klarna is now using to claim its own economic damages in court.
Google reacts - but remains vague
Of course, Google denies the accusations. The company has long complied with EU regulations, according to the company's response. Other comparison portals continue to be displayed in the search results, they say - the accusation of preferential treatment is therefore no longer relevant.
For Klarna, this sounds like trivialization. The damage that Pricerunner has suffered over the years has long since been done - and the economic impact is clear. With the help of analyses and expert reports, the loss was put at billions.
The case is now before the court in Stockholm and will be heard until December 2025. And one thing is clear: the trial will not only be followed with legal interest. It is one of the biggest competition trials that Europe's e-commerce world has ever seen.
More than a legal dispute - it's a matter of principle
Klarna is not just fighting for damages - it is fighting for survival. Once celebrated as a fintech superstar, the company has had to contend with a massive loss of value in recent years. The lawsuit against Google is therefore also a strategic step towards strengthening its own market position again - and perhaps regaining lost trust from investors.
But even if Klarna is assumed to have an economic interest of its own, the core of the lawsuit remains highly explosive. Because the proceedings pose a central question for the digital market: How independent are our search results actually still? And who decides what we see - and what we don't?
When algorithms determine who is visible and who disappears, this is not neutral technology - it is power. And power that is not controlled rarely leads to fair results. Klarna may be under financial pressure, but with this lawsuit the company is asking one of the most important questions of our time: does the internet really belong to everyone - or only to those who control it?
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