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A Florida man has joined the ranks of those filing antitrust class action lawsuits against Google.
Benjamin Blumberg and his legal team claim that Google has monopolized the market for Android mobile device applications – or apps – through specific business practices and strategies, resulting in harm to the public by eliminating competition. Google’s dominance has resulted in consumers paying more, getting less, and Blumberg says, having no other way to fight back than by taking the company to court.
Lawyers for Blumberg filed a class action lawsuit against Google LLC and Alphabet LLC, Google’s parent company, in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Monday, Dec. 7. They are accusing the tech giant of violating the federal Sherman Antitrust Act.
“Google has willfully acquired and maintained market power by its patently exclusionary conduct, including its refusal to allow rival app stores to be accessed through the Google Play Store and implementing significant frictions designed to steer consumers away from sideloading third-party app stores,” Blumberg’s class action lawsuit argues. Later, the complaint goes on to say the effect of Google’s approach as been “that competition is foreclosed, innovation is stifled, and consumer choice is gravely diminished.”
It’s unlawful dominance of the market has paved the way for Google to charge a supracompetitive 30% commission on sales of paid apps and a 30% fee for in-app purchases, Blumberg says.
Blumberg himself claims he has suffered economic losses – by way of overpaying for apps and in-app purchases – because of Google’s monopoly on Android mobile apps.
He and his lawyers are asking the court to certify their case as a class action lawsuit that will be open to representing all other consumers who own smartphones built on the Android operating system and have suffered the same harm from the lack of competition in mobile apps. Without offering a specific estimate of the number of potential Class Members that might participate in the case, Blumberg’s lawyers told the court they believe “there are millions.”
Blumberg isn’t the only one suing Google for alleged antitrust violations.
On Oct. 20, the U.S. Department of Justice and 11 states filed a historic antitrust case against Google in federal court in Washington D.C.
The lawsuit accuses the company of paying billions of dollars to smartphone manufacturers – including Apple, Samsung, LG and Motorola – and the nation’s top wireless carriers – AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile – to equip their devices with Google’s search engine as the default search engine.
That same day, Kondomar Herrera, a consumer from New York, filed an antitrust class action lawsuit against Google in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
Herrera’s claims against Google regarding its control of the mobile apps market are virtually identical to those Blumberg is making in his case.
Both of those cases followed a similar class action lawsuit brought in August by Mary Carr, which was also filed in the federal court for the Northern District of California, regarding the mobile apps market.
Blumberg, Herrera, and Carr all argue that Google began by offering the Android operating system as an open one, where rival app providers could theoretically participate, but once Android’s popularity took off, Google closed its system. That left Google Play, the company’s app store, as the only app store on Android phones.
“Google has willfully acquired and maintained such power by coercing the purchase of Android mobile apps and in-app products and services at artificial prices and by its patently exclusionary conduct, including its refusal to allow rival app stores to be accessed through the Google Play store,” the Blumberg class action lawsuit says. Google “has used that power, including by way of its unlawful practices in restraint of trade … to maintain and expand its monopoly.”
Do you have an Android smartphone? What do you think about the apps you’ve downloaded from Google Play? Tell us about it in the comment section below.
Lead plaintiff Blumberg and the proposed Class Members are represented by Gary E. Mason of Mason Lietz & Klinger LLP and Dewitt M. Lovelace of Lovelace and Associates P.A.
The Mobile Apps Class Action Lawsuit is Benjamin Blumberg, et al. v. Google LLC, et al., Case No. 1:20-cv-03557, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
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64 thoughts onGoogle Gets Hit With Another Antitrust Class Action Lawsuit Over Mobile Apps
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I downloaded an app, from google play, and was defrauded out of $800.00 + Dollars Using the APP, hashiny crypto mining, over a year ago, I have not collected any proceeds from my crypto purchases.
I also was blocked from my google account on my ASUS Chromebook device, about 4-months ago, this was my primary E-Mail Account. I lost access to all of my very important folders, including my Brokerage Accounts Information. And my Brokerage Subscription Accounts as well, These losses were substantial to me!
Please enter me in this class action as well, THANK YOU!
I always get unwanted and scammer calls please ad me
GOOGLE WAS HACKED, I AM GETTING UNWANTED HOME PHONE CALLS, ADDS AND JUNK MAIL AT MY HOME AND IN MY EMAIL, I AM AFRAID TO OPEN ANYTHING I DO NOT KNOW. PLEASE ! They always say they are the best saving your information! But than they don’t I’m tired of all Google lies
Add me I’ve been having so many issues with them.
Please add me. Thank you
Been using Google search engine forever and every time I used it I get Unwanted email spam silent calls Robot calls the search engine was already on my Apple phone therefore I used it all the time!
I belong to STARZ membership, which was $24.99 for 6 months. Since December of last year I have been in a dispute with GOOGLE. They keep taking $43.99 out of my bank account for another STARZ account monthly. I can’t contact them or stop this. I need help, because no matter how many times I contact them, they get updated information and take from my account again. I am literally being financially harassed by GOOGLE and there’s no way to stop it!!!!!
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