Key Points
- Google fined Rs 26,172 crore for unfair market practices.
- Shivaun and Adam Raff started Foundem, a price comparison website.
- Foundem’s visibility on Google dropped because of spam filters.
- The couple got no response from Google about their site’s problems.
- Foundem closed in 2016 and the couple is taking further legal steps.
Looma News
Google has to pay a fine of 2.4 billion pounds (around Rs 26,172 crore) after losing a 15-year legal fight against UK couple Shivaun and Adam Raff. This fine comes from the European Commission’s ruling that Google abused its market power in shopping comparison services. Google was disappointed when the European Court of Justice turned down its appeal.
The Raffs set up Foundem, a price comparison site, in 2006 after leaving their jobs. They soon noticed that their site was buried in search results for related queries, which hurt their traffic and business. Adam mentioned they saw their site’s ranking drop almost right after they launched.
At first, the couple thought this was a mistake from Google’s spam filters. They tried to reach out to Google for two years to fix the problem but never heard back. By the end of 2008, they noticed their site was getting traffic unexpectedly, which made them worry it was a cyber attack rather than good news from Google.
Even though Foundem was eventually recognized as the best price comparison website in the UK, the lack of response from Google pushed them to seek help from regulators in the UK, US, and Brussels. Foundem ended up closing in 2016, and the couple plans to start a civil damages claim against Google in early 2026.
The 2017 fine was the largest ever given by the European Commission, though it has since been topped by a 4.3 billion pound fine against Google. In a statement, Google said it has made changes since 2017 to follow the ruling, which it claims has helped over 800 comparison shopping services.
