(Reuters) – Alphabet’s Google on Tuesday reached a tentative settlement in a class action lawsuit filed by 21 million consumers who alleged that the company had violated U.S. federal antitrust rules by overcharging customers on its U.S. Google Play Store. According to a court filing, consumers argued that they could have spent less on apps and had more options if it weren’t for Google’s alleged monopoly. Google has denied any wrongdoing and has chosen not to comment on the proposed settlement.
Utah’s Attorney General, the proposed class-action plaintiffs, and Google’s lawyers jointly requested the judge to cancel the trial scheduled for November 6, as stated in the filing. However, the settlement is still subject to court approval, and the specific terms of the settlement were not disclosed in the filing.
Lawyers representing the consumer plaintiffs have declined to comment on the proposed settlement, while a lawyer for plaintiffs, including 38 states and the District of Columbia, has not responded to comment requests at this time.
It is worth noting that this case is part of a broader range of antitrust litigation against Google.
The settlement reached does not address ongoing claims against Google’s app store practices from companies such as Epic Games and Match Group. Match Group’s spokesperson declined to comment, and no response has been received yet from Epic Games.
The case, officially known as In re Google Play Store Antitrust Litigation, is being heard in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California under the case number 21-md-02981.
Reporting by Anirudh Saligrama in Bengaluru and Mike Scarcella; Editing by Jamie Freed
Credit: The Star : Tech Feed
