$700M Google Play Store settlement fair for consumers, judge hears

Google Play Store settlement overview: 

• Who: Attorneys general from five states and Google defended a $700 million antitrust settlement.
• Why: Class members are set to receive awards of $4.41-$17, the attorneys general write.
• Where: The Google Play Store class action settlement is in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California San Francisco Division. 

Attorneys general from five states and Google defended a $700 million antitrust settlement they reached in an antitrust class action to a San Francisco judge.

The settlement is the result of a lawsuit that claimed Google excluded competing app stores from its operating systems and limited users to its own in-app payment system.

Attorneys general from California, North Carolina, Arizona, Utah and Tennessee argued in new briefs that Google Play Store class members will receive an average award of $4.41 and a maximum award of $17.

The states say the payout is fair based on the fact that Google would have been entitled to a 15% service fee in a competitive market rather than the 30% fee it imposed.

Potential class could include 127M consumers, settlement says

The potential class would include roughly 127 million covered consumers, with a payout of $630 million to consumers and $70 million directly to states in the class. 

As part of the settlement, Google also committed to enable Android to allow third-party app installation on mobile devices through stores other than Google Play for seven years after the settlement.

Have you purchased items through the Google Play Store? Let us know in the comments.

The plaintiffs are represented by Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, Sperling & Slater PC and Hausfeld LLP.

The Google Play Store class action lawsuit is In re: Google Play Store Antitrust Litigation, Case No. 3:21-md-02981, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California San Francisco Division. 

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