The states involved in Monday’s proposed settlement had been slated to litigate their case this fall beside Epic Games, but withdrew from the trial after announcing the settlement’s existence - without disclosing its specific terms - in September. Google has said it supports sideloading to promote an open Android ecosystem, but has warned that it could come with security or privacy risks as the tech giant does not review software offered outside of its own app store. Google must also simplify the process by which consumers are allowed to install apps from unofficial app stores and third-party websites, a practice known as sideloading, including by changing the warning screens Google displays to users when they attempt to sideload. Developers that take payments through a third-party billing system can receive a slight discount on Google’s fees.Īpp makers will also have a multi-year guarantee under the settlement that they can tell users about promotions and alternative billing systems, Google’s commissions and ways to avoid the tech giant’s fees. The program, which Google calls user choice billing, has been undergoing worldwide testing for more than a year. In addition to Google’s payments to consumers and states, the settlement requires Google to change its app store practices in several ways for a certain period of time.įor example, Google agreed for five years to expand a pilot program that lets users choose whether to pay for in-app purchases through its proprietary billing system or through a third-party payment channel. “For too long, Google abused its market share to unfairly raise prices and block developers from selling products in other app stores.” “No company, no matter how large or powerful, is allowed to corner a market and use its influence to overcharge consumers and smother competition,” said New York Attorney General Letitia James, one of the officials involved in the lawsuit. That verdict was the result of a years-long battle with Epic Games, maker of the hit video game “Fortnite.” It comes as a federal jury last week decided Google’s app marketplace was an illegal monopoly. The deal stands to reshape Google’s app store business amid intense scrutiny of its control over Android app distribution and its relationship with independent software developers. Consumers eligible for a payment will each receive $2 or more, depending on how much they spent through the Google Play Store between Aug. The vast majority of affected consumers, about 71.4 million, will not need to file a claim in order to benefit from the agreement, according to the settlement terms. The other $70 million will be paid to the dozens of states that participated in the suit. Roughly 102 million US consumers will be eligible to receive a total of $630 million in compensation as part of the settlement, which resolves long-running allegations that Google harmed competition through its app store terms and fees. Google has agreed to pay $700 million and allow more competition in its Play app store, according to the terms of an antitrust settlement with US states and consumers filed in federal court on Monday.
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