Google sued by 36 states over Play Store dominance

It is official. Google is now facing another antitrust lawsuit. After a recent report suggests a new lawsuit is imminent, 36 states and Washington DC have now officially filed lawsuits against the tech giant challenging control of the Google Play Store.

The lawsuit calls attention to Google’s service fees charged by developers for in-store consumer purchases. But Google believes that rather than defending users’ choice, the lawsuit “ignores” them completely.

Per politics, the States case argues that Google is dominating the Android app ecosystem, stifling challenges from third-party stores. However, in a detailed statement from Google’s head of public policy, Wilson White, the company claims that the lawsuit “attacks a system that offers greater openness and choice than others.”

Arguments from Google

In the statement, Google argues that it not only competes with other Android OEMs, but also with Apple and its app store. The company claims that Apple is its main competitor in terms of app store revenue.

“We’re competing for both developers and consumers, and if we don’t give them the best experience on Google Play, they have other alternatives to choose from,” adds Google.

Google also believes that the Play Store “increases competition” and specifically points out that this is not the only way to install apps on Android. It mentions the ability to sideload apps on Android, the presence of other app stores built into other OEM devices, and the ability for developers to promote other app stores beyond the Play Store.

Before the launch of Android 12, the company announced plans to roll out Play Store-like functionality for third-party stores on the operating system. While it’s a move that benefits both consumers and developers, the lawsuit sheds a new light on that particular decision.

After all, Google claims that the Play Store will benefit both consumers and developers economically. It argues that most developers pay no service fees, and those that are less than 3%.

The company also mentions the recent 15% reduction in service fees for the first $ 1 million made by developers. Even so, the company is still taking a 30% cut off that number and plans to force all apps listed on the Play Store to use its billing service. This would force Netflix, Epic Games, and Tinder owner Match Group to stick to Google’s billing system and commission numbers from September.

The other antitrust lawsuits

The latest antitrust lawsuit comes after several busy months for Google’s lawyers.

Fortnite developer Epic Games sued Google and Apple back in August 2020 and presented a similar argument against the Play Store and the App Store. Google mentions Epic Games in its statement, emphasizes the similarity of the two suits and describes both as “no merit”. Just days after Epic’s move, another lawsuit was filed in California demanding Google’s 30% commission fee.

Ultimately, Google claims that the state’s recent lawsuit will harm the small developers and consumers they want to protect. See the final comment below.

This lawsuit is not about helping the little guy or protecting consumers. It’s about promoting a handful of great app developers who want to take advantage of Google Play without paying for it. This risks increasing costs for small developers, hurting their ability to innovate and being competitive, and making apps across the Android ecosystem less secure for consumers.

But what do you mean Let us know in the comments.