Attorney General Letitia James, together with a coalition of 53 attorneys general, has reached a groundbreaking $700 million settlement with Google LLC. This agreement addresses Google’s monopolistic practices in its app store, which led to higher costs for consumers and app developers.
The lawsuit, co-led by Attorney General James, accused Google of maintaining an unlawful monopoly over mobile app distribution and in-app payment processing on Android devices. Google’s dominance enabled the company to impose charges of up to 30 percent on app and in-app purchases, significantly inflating consumer costs.
“No company, no matter how large or powerful, is allowed to corner a market and use its influence to overcharge consumers and smother competition,” said Attorney General James. “For too long, Google abused its market share to unfairly raise prices and block developers from selling products in other app stores.”
Under the settlement terms, Google will disburse $630 million in restitution to consumers affected by its anti-competitive actions between August 2016 and September 2023. Consumers will receive automatic payments via PayPal or Venmo or can opt for checks or ACH transfers. The remaining $70 million covers sovereign claims by the states.
As part of its commitment to cease anti-competitive behavior, Google is required to make significant changes to its operations.
These changes include granting developers the freedom to choose in-app billing systems other than Google Play Billing and to set lower prices for apps and in-app products through alternative billing systems. Developers will be able to guide consumers towards these non-Google billing options within their apps.
The settlement further dictates that Google must not enforce exclusive contracts that position Google Play Store as the only pre-loaded app store on devices. Google is also expected to facilitate the installation and updating of third-party apps from sources outside the…
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