Google was sued. The authorities of Washington and 36 US states accused the corporation of monopolizing Google Play. They are concerned that Google allegedly does not allow other stores on Android and pays competitors not to make their own app stores.
According to the Bloomberg portal, the complaint was filed in the federal court of California. It was initiated by the states of New York, Utah, North Carolina and Tennessee.
The lawsuit says Google is abusing market power in the mobile market. They say that she is doing everything possible to “make sure that developers can reach users only using Google Play.” At the same time, the corporation collects an “extravagant” commission of 30% from developers.
The authorities also claim that Google paid Samsung Electronics, the company that produces most Android smartphones, so that it would not open a competing store. But note that in reality, the Korean company has its own digital store, which sells games, including the Galaxy Store.
Google has been the gatekeeper of the internet for many years. Now it has also become the gatekeeper of our digital devices. As a result, Google is forcing us to pay more for the programs we use on a daily basis.
Attorney General of New York
Google has already commented on the lawsuit, saying that “everything is wrong” in it.
The corporation indicated that the state authorities are narrowly looking at the mobile market. Google Play faces competition not only on Android, but also on other platforms. One of the store’s key competitors is the App Store running on iOS.
In addition, users can download Android apps outside of Google Play. This can be done both through other stores and directly from the developer’s website.
As for the 30% commission, according to Google, its competitors charge the same commission: Amazon Appstore (20-30%), Galaxy Store (30%) and App Store (15-30%). Also in March, the company announced a reduction of the commission to 15% for the first million dollars for all developers.
The lawsuit was filed against the backdrop of a legal confrontation between Epic Games and Apple. The creators of Fortnite accuse the company of a monopoly policy regarding applications and payment systems in them. Epic Games also blames Google for this.