ETtech Explainer: Why Google agreed to pay $700 million to settle US antitrust lawsuit
economictimes.indiatimes.comGoogle will pay a penalty of $700 million and rework its Android Play Store policy to settle an antitrust lawsuit in the United States.
While the deal was finalised in September, the final terms of the settlement were revealed on December 19, when documents were filed in San Francisco federal court.
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What were the allegations against Google?
The lawsuit alleged that Google had been stifling competition against its Android app store in a bid to drive up profits.
The attorneys general of states said Google’s policies artificially drove up prices for digital transactions within apps downloaded from the Play Store, which caters to Android smartphone users.
Like Apple’s iPhone app store policy, Google collects commissions, which range between 15% and 30%, on in-app purchases. The attorneys general contended that the prices could be lower had Google allowed developers an open market for payment processing.
Notably, these Play Store commissions generated billions of dollars in profit annually for Google.
How much will Google pay?
The documents reveal that Google will pay $630 million to create a settlement fund for consumers, while another $70 million will be put into a fund to be used by the states.
All 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands joined the settlement.
Also read |US wraps up case against Google in historic antitrust trial: The story so
