Current:Home > InvestGoogle reaches tentative settlement with 36 states and DC over alleged app store monopoly -Wealth Momentum Network
Google reaches tentative settlement with 36 states and DC over alleged app store monopoly
View
Date:2025-04-13 03:23:00
Thirty-six states and the District of Columbia have reached an agreement in principle with Google to settle a lawsuit filed in 2021 over the tech giant’s alleged monopolistic control of app distribution for the software that runs most of the world’s cellphones.
The agreement, cited in a court filing late Tuesday by both sides, is subject to approval by the state attorneys general and the board of directors of Google’s parent company, the execution of an agreement and court approval.
Terms of the temporary agreement bar the parties from disclosing its details for now, according to the Utah attorney general’s office, the lead plaintiff. “We don’t have a comment at this time,” said Google spokesperson Peter Shottenfels.
A trial date had been set for Nov. 6.
The complaint filed in a Northern California federal court echoed similar allegations that mobile game maker Epic Games made against Google that is scheduled to go to trial in November.
Apple prevailed in a separate suit Epic filed against it over the separate app store it runs exclusively for iPhones, with a federal appeals court upholding in April its sole control of app distribution.
Google still faces several major antitrust lawsuits filed by the Department of Justice and other government agencies across the U.S. focused on alleged search-related and advertising market monopolistic behavior. Justice’s search-related case is set for trial on Sept. 12.
In November, Google settled with 40 states over the tracking of user location, paying $391 million.
The Utah-led suit was among actions taken in recent years to try to curtail the enormous power amassed by Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon, which have built unprecedented digital empires by corralling consumers into services with minimal competitors.
Like the Epic lawsuit, the states’ lawsuit focused primarily on the control Google exerts on its Play app store so it can collect commissions of up to 30% on digital transactions within apps installed on smartphones running on the Android operating system. Those devices represent more than 80% of the worldwide smartphone market.
Although its app commissions are similar to Apple’s, Google has tried to distinguish itself by allowing consumers to download apps from other places than its Play store. Apple, by contrast, doesn’t allow iPhone users to install apps from any other outlet than its own store.
But the states’ lawsuit took issue with Google’s claim that its Android software is an open operating system that allows consumers more choices. It contended Google has set up anticompetitive barriers to ensure it distributes more than 90% of the apps on Android devices — a market share that the attorneys general argued represented an illegal monopoly.
Lawsuits the Mountain View, California, company is still fighting include a landmark case brought by the U.S. Justice Department in 2020 focused on alleged abuses of Google’s dominant search engine and its digital ad network, which generates some $100 billion in annual revenue for its corporate parent, Alphabet Inc.
veryGood! (98)
Related
- The White House is cracking down on overdraft fees
- Last Chance to Save Up to 90% Off at Nordstrom Rack's Back-to-School Sale: $16 Jackets, $20 Shoes & More
- Which Love Is Blind UK Couples Got Married and Which Ones Split?
- The tragic true story of how Brandon Lee died on 'The Crow' movie set in 1993
- Have Dry, Sensitive Skin? You Need To Add These Gentle Skincare Products to Your Routine
- Colts QB Anthony Richardson throws touchdown, interception in preseason game vs. Bengals
- Gateway Church exodus: Another leader out at Texas megachurch over 'moral issue'
- With their massive resources, corporations could be champions of racial equity but often waiver
- Charges tied to China weigh on GM in Q4, but profit and revenue top expectations
- Taylor Swift breaks silence on 'devastating' alleged Vienna terrorist plot
Ranking
- Federal Spending Freeze Could Have Widespread Impact on Environment, Emergency Management
- A big Social Security shake-up is coming in 2025. Are you prepared?
- Zoë Kravitz is 'much closer' to Channing Tatum after directing 'Blink Twice'
- Is Joey Votto a Hall of Famer? The case for, and against, retiring Reds star
- California DMV apologizes for license plate that some say mocks Oct. 7 attack on Israel
- Apache Group is Carrying a Petition to the Supreme Court to Stop a Mine on Land Sacred to the Tribe
- Judge Mathis' Wife Linda Files for Divorce After 39 Years of Marriage
- Housing market showing glimmers of hope amid grim reports
Recommendation
Krispy Kreme offers a free dozen Grinch green doughnuts: When to get the deal
The Latest: The real test for Harris’ campaign begins in the presidential race against Trump
The Daily Money: A weaker job market?
Tropical storm forecast to bring strong winds and heavy rain to Hawaii this weekend
IRS recovers $4.7 billion in back taxes and braces for cuts with Trump and GOP in power
University of Maine System to study opening state’s first public medical school
How Nevada colleges and universities are encouraging students to vote
TikTok’s “Dancing Engineer” Dead at 34 After Contracting Dengue Fever