July 8, 2021
Thirty-seven U.S. state and district attorneys sued Alphabet Inc’s Google on Wednesday, claiming the tech giant violated antitrust laws by buying off competitors and operating its App Store for Android phones.
It follows complaints from app developers about the management of its Play Store.
Google stipulates that some apps use the company’s payment tools and give Google up to 30% of its digital revenue.
The new lawsuit was praised by Meghan DiMuzio, executive director of the Coalition for App Fairness, which represents companies such as Match Group Inc and Spotify Technology SA that oppose some of the Play Store rules.
Apple Inc’s App Store for iPhones and iPads has similar restrictions to the Play Store.
Google allows consumers to avoid the Play Store, but some say it is impractical to do so.
This policy has required legal scrutiny.
The states are led by a group of attorneys general in the states of Utah, New York, North Carolina, Tennessee, California and the District of Columbia.
For more information, read the original story in Reuters.
