(WAVY) — While there’s a common debate between the benefits of iPhones vs Androids, today could be Android users’ lucky day.
On Dec. 20, Attorney General Jason Miyares and 52 other attorney generals announced a $700 million settlement with Google in an antitrust settlement against the company’s Google Play Store. The company is now set to pay around $630 million in restitution, minus costs and fees, to consumers who made purchases on the Google Play Store between August 2016 and September 2023, who were harmed as a result of the monopolistic practices of the company.
The additional $70 million is set to go to sovereign claims, a release states. Those eligible for compensation don’t need to file a claim, and can set up automatic payments through PayPal or Venmo, or via check or ACH transfer. Additional details regarding the payment process are expected to be released at a later date.
“Ensuring big corporations are playing fair and not manipulating the free market is one of my priorities as Attorney General,” Miyares said, in a release. “Google took advantage of developers and consumers by monopolizing this niche market, breaking the law and putting corporate greed first.”
The company was sued in 2021 by the attorney generals for monopolizing the fair market with its Android app distribution and in-app payment processing. The lawsuit claimed that Google prevented other app stores from being pre-uploaded onto Androids through no-compete contracts, paid off potential rivals and created technological barriers for consumers attempting other means for downloading apps.
Epic Games and Match were two major app developers that also participated in antitrust lawsuits against the company. Match announced a separate settlement earlier this year, while Epic Games took its case to trial. During the four-week trial, a jury unanimously found that Google’s anticompetitive conduct violated the federal antitrust laws, a release states.
The settlement requires the company implement the following changes:
- Give all developers the ability to allow users to pay through in-app billing systems other than Google Play Billing for at least five years.
- Allow developers to offer cheaper prices for their apps and in-app products for consumers who use alternative, non-Google billing systems for at least five years.
- Permit developers to steer consumers toward alternative, non-Google billing systems by advertising cheaper prices within their apps themselves for at least five years.
- Not enter contracts that require the Play Store to be the exclusive, pre-loaded app store on a device or home screen for at least five years.
- Allow the installation of third-party apps on Android phones from outside the Google Play Store for at least seven years.
- Revise and reduce the warnings that appear on an Android device if a user attempts to download a third-party app from outside the Google Play Store for at least 5 years.
- Maintain Android system support for third-party app stores, including allowing automatic updates, for four years.
- Not require developers to launch their app catalogs on the Play Store at the same time as they launch on other app stores for at least four years.
- Submit compliance reports to an independent monitor who will ensure that Google is not continuing its anticompetitive conduct for at least five years.
“Today’s settlement provides relief for those affected, corrects their anticompetitive practices and holds Google accountable,” Miyares said, in a release.
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