Google To Pay $700 Million As Settlement To US Customers

Google (Alphabet) will pay $700 million as a settlement to its US customers. They are taking this step to revamp their Play Store with a focus on allowing greater competition. According to Google and San Francisco court filings, this is a part of the antitrust settlement with US states and consumers.

As per reports from Reuters,

?Google will pay $630 million into a settlement fund for consumers and $70 million into a fund that will be used by states, according to the settlement, which still requires a judge’s final approval. The settlement said eligible consumers will receive at least $2 and may get additional payments based on their spending on Google Play between Aug. 16, 2016 and Sept. 30, 2023.?

All fifty states, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia joined the agreement to receive a part of the settlement.

Many accused Google of overcharging customers with the use of unlawful restrictions on app distributions on Android devices. Apart from that, the tech giant also imposed unnecessary fees for in-app transactions. However, the company did not admit its wrongdoings.

Attorneys that represented consumers and states announced the settlement in September. However, they kept their terms confidential before Google ran its trial with Epic Games. Last week, a California federal jury agreed with Epic Games that there are some parts of Google?s app business that were anti-competitive.

However, Google later said that Google would simplify the ability of its users to download apps directly from developers as a part of the settlement. Google also said that it was expanding the ability of game and app developers to provide consumers with an alternative billing option.

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Soumava Goswami

Inspired by The Social Network, Soumava loves to find ways to make small businesses successful – he spends most of his time analyzing case studies of successful small businesses. With 5+ years of experience in flourishing with a small MarTech company, he knows countless tricks that work in favor of small businesses. His keen interest in finance is what fuels his passion for giving the best advice for small business operations. He loves to invest his time familiarizing himself with the latest business trends and brainstorming ways to apply them. From handling customer feedback to making the right business decisions, you’ll find all the answers with him!