Small Company Foundem, Big Victory: How a Couple Defeated Google in a 15 year Landmark Legal Battle,fined over Rs21,000 Crores

In recent years, one high-profile case that highlights this issue involved a small British company named Foundem, which managed to defeat the tech giant Google in a lengthy legal battle. The case, which has recently come to a close, underscores the potential for smaller entities to challenge and even overcome unfair practices by large corporations.

The Rise and Fall of Foundem

Foundem, a price comparison website, was launched in June 2006 by a British couple, Shivaun and Adam Raff. Their aim was to provide consumers with an easy-to-use platform to compare product prices across various retailers. While Foundem had the potential to become a widely-used tool, the couple soon realized that their platform was not reaching users as expected. Despite offering a legitimate service, Foundem began experiencing problems shortly after its launch.

The primary issue arose from Google’s spam filter, which had identified Foundem as a potential spam site. This filter automatically pushed Foundem down in Google’s search results, making it nearly invisible to users searching for price comparison tools. As a result, even when users searched for terms like “price comparison” or “comparison shopping,” Foundem barely showed up in Google’s search results.

This was a serious problem for the couple. Their website’s revenue relied heavily on clicks, and without visibility on Google, Foundem’s traffic and, subsequently, its income, suffered drastically. Although Foundem was ranked well on other search engines, Google’s dominance in the search market meant that most potential users were not seeing Foundem. Despite attempts to resolve the issue with Google, their requests went unanswered.

Recognition and Renewed Hope

Despite these setbacks, Foundem gained some recognition over the years. In 2008, it received an award from Channel 5’s “The Gadget Show,” which gave Shivaun and Adam Raff a renewed sense of hope. They believed that Google might start treating Foundem as a legitimate business rather than as a spam site. However, Google continued to give their website low priority in search results.

This lack of response and seemingly unjust treatment prompted the Raffs to take legal action against Google. They felt that Google’s actions were not only damaging their business but were also part of a larger issue concerning the monopoly power Google held over the digital marketplace.

Taking the Fight to the Courts

In 2010, the couple decided to file a formal complaint with the European Commission, claiming that Google was abusing its dominant position by prioritizing its own services over competitors. The European Commission took the case seriously and launched an investigation into Google’s practices.

Following years of investigation, in 2017, the European Commission ruled in favor of Foundem and other similar services, concluding that Google was indeed guilty of anti-competitive practices. Google was ordered to pay a massive fine of 2.4 billion euros (equivalent to approximately 2 billion pounds or 349 billion Nepalese rupees). The Commission found that Google had been intentionally down ranking websites that provided price comparison services to give preference to its own platforms.

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Google, however, appealed the decision, bringing the case to the European Court of Justice. The appeal process was drawn out over several years, and in September 2024, the European Court of Justice finally upheld the Commission’s decision, siding with Foundem and affirming Google’s wrongdoing.

Implications of the Verdict

This verdict is monumental not only for Foundem but for other small businesses facing similar issues with powerful corporations. The ruling sets a precedent that even tech giants like Google can be held accountable for unfair practices. By winning this case, the Raffs have highlighted the importance of fair competition and the right of small businesses to operate on an even playing field.

The couple’s victory against Google is inspiring for many and showcases how resilience, coupled with a strong case, can lead to justice—even against one of the world’s largest corporations. This ruling serves as a reminder that no company is above the law, and it reinforces the need for digital platforms to act responsibly and fairly towards all businesses, big or small.

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