States bring antitrust suit against Google over Play Store
Attorneys general from 36 states and Washington, DC have filed the latest antitrust suit against Google, Reuters first reported, targeting the tech giant's control over the Google Play Store. It's the latest effort from regulators to put an end to the tech industry's anti-competitive practices.
Filed in the US District Court in the Northern District of California, the suit is led by Utah, North Carolina, Tennessee, New York, Arizona, Colorado, Iowa and Nebraska, Politico reports.
The suit comes as regulators and developers around the globe question the way Google and Apple wield their power over the marketplace for mobile applications.
Last September, Google gave all Android developers a year to adopt its in-app billing system for apps distributed on the Google Play Store to sell digital goods. The move was designed to stop some popular apps, such as Netflix, Spotify and Epic Games, bypassing the system -- and the 30% cut Google took from those transactions. Epic sued both Google and Apple over their respective app store policies. Subsequently, both Google and Apple halved their standard commission on in-app purchases.
Data from the second quarter of 2021 shows that the app market is booming. Users spent a record $34 billion in the quarter, with iOS App Store users spending $22 billion and Google Play store users spending $12 billion.
Prior and related coverage:
- New antitrust legislation targets Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google.
- Poll results: ZDNet readers find Google guilty of antitrust but no consensus on remedies.
- The prospect of sideloading mandate strikes fears into the heart of Apple.
- Play Store identified as the main distribution vector for most Android malware.
- Tim Cook: Without Apple curation, App Store would be a 'toxic mess'.