A view of the Google logo on a temporary house during CES 2023, an annual consumer electronics show, in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., January 6, 2023. REUTERS/Steve Marcus/File Photo Purchase license rights
Sept 6 (Reuters) – Alphabet’s (GOOGL.O) On Tuesday, Google tentatively settled a class action lawsuit alleging its US Play Store violated US federal antitrust rules by overcharging customers, according to a court filing.
Details of the deal were not disclosed.
In the lawsuit brought by more than 30 US states and representing 21 million consumers, the plaintiffs claimed that consumers could have spent less on apps and had more choice were it not for Google’s alleged monopoly.
The parties to the settlement, including attorneys representing the Utah attorney general, who leads the group of states, asked that a trial scheduled for November 6 be canceled.
Google, which had denied any wrongdoing, declined to comment on the proposed deal. Attorneys for the consumer plaintiffs declined to comment on the proposed settlement, while an attorney for the plaintiffs that include the states and the District of Columbia did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The settlement is subject to court approval.
Google is facing similar lawsuits alleging it has generated huge profit margins from its Play Store by engaging in illegal tactics to preserve monopolies on the sale of Android apps and in-app products.
They argue that Google has illegally ordered some apps to use the company’s payment tools and give Google up to 30% of digital product sales.
Epic Games, which has filed such a claim, is not party to the proposed settlement with Google Play, founder and CEO Tim Sweeney said in a post on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
“If Google ends its payments monopoly without imposing a Google tax on third-party transactions, we’ll settle and be friends with Google in its new era,” he said, adding that if the deal retained the ‘Google tax’, The company “will continue to fight.”
party group (MTCH.O) He has also filed a lawsuit. A Match spokesman declined to 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; Additional reporting by Kanjyik Ghosh; Editing by Jamie Freed and Edwina Gibbs
Our standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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