Google to pay £260m to settle 'unfair' pricing class action lawsuit

Google has agreed to pay £260m to settle a class action lawsuit brought before the Competition Appeal Tribunal by competition law professor Barry Rodger on behalf of UK app developers. The case alleged that Google abused its dominant market position by charging excessive commissions for transactions made through its Play Store to Android customers. The settlement, reached ahead of a scheduled 10-week trial set for September, is subject to court approval. UK-based app developers who sold content through Google Play Store from August 2018 are potentially eligible for compensation based on their qualifying sales. Damien Geradin, founding partner of Geradin Partners, stated this is the largest settlement to date under the UK's class action regime for competition claims and should see money reaching developers within three years. This settlement is part of a broader trend of class actions against Big Tech companies in the UK, with Apple facing similar claims over "excessive and unlawful" fees on its app store.

(Source：City A.M.)