Google has agreed to pay out $700m and for greater competition to be present on the Google Play App as a result of a federal court verdict.
The outcome in San Francisco states Google will pay $630m into a settlement fund for users to receive compensation. A further $70m will be allocated to individual states involved in the case.
As reported by Reuters, “The settlement said eligible consumers will receive at least $2 and may get additional payments based on their spending on Google Play between Aug. 16, 2016 and Sept. 30, 2023.”
California’s state attorneys commented, “No other U.S. antitrust enforcer has yet been able to secure remedies of this magnitude from Google”.
This verdict still requires the final approval of a judge but it is a landmark decision and its consequences will likely be felt by users and developers who access the Play Store.
Google Play Store in court
Earlier this month a court ruled in favor of Epic Games in an ongoing anti-competition suit with the game developer. The CEO of the video game developers weighed in on today’s verdict via social media.
Tim Sweeney said states involved could have won larger damages “if they’d stayed in the fight a few weeks longer.”
The States' earlier filings made a strong case for $10.5 billion in damages, in line with Google's unjustly collected 30% fees. I think they'd have gotten it if they'd stayed in the fight a few weeks longer to the overwhelming victory in court. An unfortunate outcome.
— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) December 19, 2023
Epic win for a game developer
Sweeny has been vocal about Google and other major online game stores.
Epic’s argument in their recently won case was the unethical amount of percentage fees Google was charging game developers to promote and access their creations.
Via a statement on the Epic Press Room, the company said, “Google imposes a 30% tax on developers simply because they have prevented any viable competitors from emerging to offer better deals. And Google executives acknowledged in Court their offer of a 26% rate on third-party payment options is a fake choice for developers.”
Image Credit: Pexels.
