Details of the settlement were not disclosed.
In the action brought by more than 30 U.S. states and
representing 21 million consumers, the plaintiffs had claimed that consumers
might have spent less on apps and had more options if it weren't for Google's
alleged monopoly.
Parties to the settlement, including lawyers representing
the attorney general for Utah which is leading the group of states, asked that
a trial scheduled for Nov. 6 be canceled.
Google, which had denied wrongdoing, declined to comment on
the proposed settlement. Lawyers for the consumer plaintiffs declined to
comment on the proposed settlement, while a lawyer for plaintiffs that include
the states and the District of Columbia did not immediately respond to a
request for comment.
The settlement is subject to approval by the court.
Google is facing similar lawsuits which allege that it has
generated enormous profit margins from its Play Store by engaging in illegal
tactics to preserve monopolies in selling Android apps and in-app goods.
They argue that Google has unlawfully mandated that some
apps use the company's payment tools and give Google as much as 30% of digital
goods sales
Epic Games, which has brought such a claim, is not a party
to the proposed Google Play settlement, founder and CEO Tim Sweeney said in a
post on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
Epic Games isn't a party to the proposed Google Play settlement with the States Attorneys General.
— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) September 6, 2023
We're fighting for consumer and developer freedom to do business directly, free of monopoly stores, monopoly payment processors, and monopoly taxes.https://t.co/6hagYKLWPg
"If Google is ending its payments monopoly without
imposing a Google Tax on third party transactions, we'll settle and be Google's
friend in their new era," he said, adding that if the settlement left the
'Google tax' in place, the company will "fight on".
Match Group (MTCH.O) has also brought a claim. A
spokesperson for Match declined to comment.
The case is In re Google Play Store Antitrust Litigation,
U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No. 21-md-02981.
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