Pavel vs. Goliath: Czech search engine Seznam demands billions from Google

Today, the Czech internet leader, Seznam.cz, sent a pre-litigation notice to the world's largest search engine Google, demanding payment of more than CZK 9 billion in compensation for damages it claims are a result of Google's near-monopoly of general internet search services.

The company says that because of Google's dominant position on the market for licensed operating systems used in most smart mobile devices and applications using the Android operating system, they have an unfair advantage.

In response, Google Director of Communications Alžběta Houzarová said in a statement, “Android gives people an unprecedented choice of which applications to install on their devices, which to use and which to set as default. This operating system also enables millions of application developers around the world to build successful businesses.”

According to Seznam, over the past few years, their company has been striving to break down the barriers that have come up as a result of Google's abuse of its dominant position on the market, by establishing business cooperation with global device manufacturers.

However, as it extends its applications and services to Android mobile devices, it still encounters market roadblocks that the European Commission has found to be in breach of EU law.

Seznam is the Czech leader in general search and internet advertising services, advertising monetization and aggregation and presentation of media content. In 2019, it recorded revenues of CZK 4.69 billion, and since 2011 its audited revenues have reached the value of almost CZK 32 billion. The current market share of general search services is estimated at 25%.

Google is the most used search engine in the world. Parent company Alphabet earned $38.3 billion in the second quarter this year alone. This was the first time that Google's quarterly revenue had fallen slightly due to the coronavirus crisis. Ads on Google and YouTube account for about 66 percent of Alphabet's revenue.

Google has confirmed it has received a pre-litigation notice from Seznam, with a 30-day payment deadline. After the expiration, the Czech search engine is ready to take the giant to court.