Google reaches tentative settlement in US Play Store lawsuit

Reuters

6th Sep 2023

Alphabet’s Google on Tuesday tentatively settled a class action by 21 million consumers alleging that it had violated US federal antitrust rules by overcharging customers on its US Google Play Store, according to a court filing.

Consumers claimed they might have spent less on apps and had more options if it weren’t for the alleged monopoly. Google had denied wrongdoing and declined to comment on the proposed settlement.

Lawyers representing Utah’s attorney general, the proposed class action plaintiffs and Google asked the judge to cancel a trial scheduled for November 6, the filing showed. The settlement is subject to approval by the court.

The details of the settlement were not disclosed in the filing.

Lawyers for the consumer plaintiffs declined to comment on the proposed settlement, while a lawyer for plaintiffs that include 38 states and the District of Columbia did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The case is part of wide-ranging antitrust litigation.

The proposed deal, however, does not resolve pending claims against Google app store practices from companies including Epic Games and Match Group. A spokesperson for Match declined to comment, and a representative for Epic did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The case is In re Google Play Store Antitrust Litigation, US District Court, Northern District of California, No. 21-md-02981.

• Reporting by Anirudh Saligrama in Bengaluru and Mike Scarcella; Editing by Jamie Freed, of Reuters.