36 States in America have lay a suit on Google for higher App purchase~details below
The 36 States which include New York, California, and Tennessee and several others lay the suit on Google alleging that the company illegally abused its power over the sale and distribution of apps through the Google Play store on mobile devices.
The Francisco State attorneys general said in a complaint that was filed Wednesday in federal court that Google used anti-competitive strategies to out-manouevre competition and ensure that developers have no choice but to go through the Google Play store to reach users.
It then collects an “extravagant” commission up to 30% on App purchases.
Away from that, Google was accused of paying Samsung Electronics Co., the largest Android manufacturer, to ensure that the Korean company didn’t develop its own competing app store.
The state further alleged that after two fortnite maker Epic Games Inc. began distributing its app outside of Google’s store, Google again “bought off” developers to dissuade them from doing the same, according to the complaint.
Details of those payouts were blacked out in the complaint.
The company said the lawsuit “gets it wrong” by limiting the definition of the app marketplace to Android devices.
The company added that Google also competes with Apple Inc. for developers and consumers.
Wilson white Google Senior Director for Public Policy made a statement in a blog post “We don’t impose the same restrictions as other mobile operating systems do,”
“So it’s strange that a group of state attorneys general chose to file a lawsuit attacking a system that provides more openness and choice than others.”
New York attorney General Letitia James said in a statement “Google has served as the gatekeeper of the internet for many years, but more recently, it has also become the gatekeeper of our digital devices –resulting in all of us paying more for the software we use every day,”
The complaint, filed by 36 states and the District of Columbia, marks a new attack by government officials in the U.S. against the search engine’s business practices.
The Justice Department and a group of states filed separate complaints over Google’s search business last year, while another state coalition sued over Google’s digital advertising business.
The states are taking on Google even after a federal judge in Washington last week threw out their antitrust lawsuit against Facebook Inc.
That case accused Facebook of illegally crushing competition by buying Instagram and WhatsApp because it saw them as threats to its business. The judge said the states waited too long to challenge the acquisitions.
Google and Apple are a duopoly dominating the app economy of the Western world.
The companies have come under intense pressure from regulators and some developers who complain that high app store fees and complex rules raise costs for consumers.
A total of $143 billion was spent in mobile app stores in 2020, a 20% jump from the previous year, according to analytics firm App Annie.
Google and Apple are a duopoly dominating the app economy of the Western world.
The companies have come under intense pressure from regulators and some developers who complain that high app store fees and complex rules raise costs for consumers.
According to analytics firm (App Annie) a total of $143 billion was spent in mobile app stores in 2020, a 20% higher from the previous year.
The State of Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes said, Google’s conduct led to inflated costs for consumers who made purchases through o line apps. The typical consumer may have paid “hundreds if not thousands of dollars more,” he said in a statement.
“Google’s monopoly is a menace to the marketplace,” Reyes said.