The attorneys general allege that Google engaged in the following conduct to enhance and protect its monopoly position over Android app distribution: The Google Play Store, which is Google’s app store, accounts for over 90 percent of all app downloads on Android smartphones. This lawsuit seeks to protect both consumers and innovative app developers from these unlawful practices.”Īccording to the complaint, Google had previously promised app developers and device manufacturers that it would keep Android as an “open source” platform – allowing developers to create compatible apps and distribute them without unnecessary restrictions – but did not keep that promise, implementing contractual restraints that both disincentivized and restricted mobile device manufacturers and network operators that adopted the Android ecosystem from competing in the relevant market. “We are filing this lawsuit today to end Google’s web of restrictive contracts that have unlawfully inflated the cost of many digital goods, services, upgrades or other purchases made through apps downloaded from the Google Play Store.

“Smartphones are a source of information, entertainment, and commerce in our daily lives, but Google’s abuse of its Android market dominance has stifled competition and consumer options for app downloads,” AG Healey said.

This commission is significantly higher than commission fees charged by other competitive payment processors for digital and non-digital goods. According to the complaint, Google also requires that developers offering apps through the Google Play Store use Google Billing, which forces them to pay Google’s exorbitant commission-up to 30 percent-on in-app purchases made by consumers. District Court of the Northern District of California-San Francisco Division, alleges that the tech giant violated the federal Sherman Antitrust Act and various state antitrust and consumer protection laws with its exclusionary conduct, which substantially shut out competing app distribution channels. BOSTON - Attorney General Maura Healey today joined a bipartisan coalition of 37 attorneys general in filing a lawsuit against Google for using its market dominance to unfairly restrict competition within the Google Play Store for Android mobile devices, harming consumers by limiting choice and driving up app prices.

Monopoly here and now app shuts off