Mon. Sep 30th, 2024
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The settlement terms in the app store case were not disclosed, and the agreement is subject to approval by the state attorneys general and the board of directors of Alphabet, Google’s parent company. A detailed settlement agreement will be submitted in about a month, according to the filing on Tuesday.

The lawsuit challenging Google’s control over its Android app store was first filed in July 2021. The case is challenging the search giant’s policies to force all app developers who use its Google Play Store to pay a 30 percent commission on sales of digital goods or services.

Video game maker Epic Games and online dating company Match Group are also suing Google over the same allegations and are still currently set to go to trial in November. A spokesperson for Match declined to comment on the settlement. A spokesperson for Epic did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Epic is also locked in a similar legal battle against Apple over that company’s mobile app store policies. It largely lost a 2021 trial and subsequent appeal, and is currently petitioning the U.S. Supreme Court to take up its case. While Epic and the other plaintiffs criticize Google’s app store policies, the company still allows rival app stores on its phones. Apple by contrast allows no competition on its devices.

Last year, Google settled similar claims with a group of app developers, agreeing to pay $90 million and make it easier for companies to tell their customers about lower prices outside of their apps.

A motion by Google to throw out much of Epic and Match’s case is pending before U.S. District Judge James Donato in San Francisco.

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