Google Faces €2.97 Billion Antitrust Lawsuit: A New Frontier in Tech Competition Litigation?
4min read In a landmark legal battle with implications for the tech industry’s regulatory future, Italy’s Moltiply Group has filed a €2.97 billion antitrust lawsuit against Google, alleging the tech giant abused its dominance in search engines to crush competition from Moltiply’s price comparison platform, Trovaprezzi.it. The case, filed in Milan in May 2025, hinges on Google’s alleged manipulation of search results between 2010 and 2017 to prioritize its own Google Shopping service, diverting traffic and revenue away from smaller rivals. This lawsuit could mark a pivotal moment in Europe’s ongoing push to rein in Big Tech’s anti-competitive practices—and investors would be wise to pay attention.
The Legal Battlefield: A Precedent-Based Attack
Moltiply’s case draws heavily on the European Commission’s 2017 ruling that fined Google €2.42 billion for similar conduct—giving preferential treatment to Google Shopping over European competitors. That decision, upheld by the European Court of Justice in September 2024, now serves as the legal bedrock for Moltiply’s claim. The lawsuit asserts that Google’s actions violated EU antitrust laws by distorting fair competition in digital markets, resulting in lost business opportunities, eroded market share, and financial harm to Moltiply’s subsidiary, 7Pixel.
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The case is significant not just for its staggering damages claim but also because it tests the enforceability of EU antitrust rulings in national courts. If Moltiply prevails, it could open the door for other European businesses to pursue private litigation against tech giants, using EU-level findings as a template. This would add a new layer of legal risk for Big Tech firms, which have long relied on regulatory fines as the primary consequence for antitrust violations.
The Financial and Strategic Stakes for Alphabet
While Google has not yet publicly responded to the lawsuit, the implications for Alphabet’s financial health and reputation are clear. The €2.97 billion claim exceeds the €2.42 billion fine from the 2017 EU ruling, suggesting that Moltiply is seeking not just to recover losses but to punish what it views as systemic misconduct.
Investors should monitor Alphabet’s stock performance for clues about market sentiment. A
Broader Implications: A Trend Toward Private Enforcement
Moltiply’s lawsuit is part of a growing trend in Europe, where companies are increasingly leveraging EU antitrust decisions to seek compensation through national courts. This shift underscores the limitations of regulatory fines alone in curbing anti-competitive behavior. As the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) tightens restrictions on Big Tech’s dominance, private litigation could become a key tool for enforcing compliance.
For investors, this raises critical questions: How will Alphabet adapt its practices to avoid future litigation? Can it weather the reputational and financial costs of multi-billion-dollar lawsuits? And what precedent will this case set for other tech giants like Amazon or Meta?
Conclusion: A Watershed Moment for Digital Markets?
The Moltiply lawsuit is not merely a legal skirmish—it’s a test of whether private entities can hold tech giants accountable for systemic anti-competitive practices. With the EU’s 2017 ruling already validated by its highest court, Moltiply has a strong legal foundation. If successful, the case could:
1. Trigger a wave of similar claims: European businesses may now feel emboldened to pursue private damages, creating a new revenue risk for Big Tech.
2. Pressure regulators to act faster: The DMA’s enforcement could accelerate, with stricter scrutiny of self-preferencing practices.
3. Impact investor sentiment: Persistent legal risks might weigh on tech stocks, particularly those with dominant market positions.
Consider this: Alphabet’s market cap is over $2 trillion, but the cumulative cost of antitrust fines and settlements since 2017 exceeds $15 billion—a fraction of its valuation but a growing concern. The Moltiply case, if it succeeds, could add billions more to that tally while signaling to markets that Big Tech’s era of unchecked dominance may be ending. Investors in tech should brace for a new era of accountability—and factor in the rising legal and regulatory risks now embedded in the sector’s DNA.
In sum, this case is more than a legal dispute—it’s a warning shot across the bow of Big Tech’s power. For investors, staying ahead of regulatory and litigation risks will be critical in navigating the digital economy’s evolving landscape.
