Google has agreed to pay $700 million and will make changes to its app store it has resisted for years in order to resolve a an antitrust lawsuit brought by state attorneys general, the company announced on Monday.
As part of the deal, Google said it would now allow app developers to charge consumers directly, instead of being billed through Google, where the company can take up to a 30% cut.
The tech giant said it will also simplify the process of making apps available for download outside of its own app marketplace, known as the Google Play store.
Sounds like some of us may qualify for funding…
Google will contribute $630 million into a settlement fund for consumers and $70 million will be provided to the dozens of states that brought the legal action against the tech behemoth.
Lawyers for the states wrote in a court submission on Monday that an estimated 71 million people out of the 102 million eligible consumers will receive automatic payments without having to file a claim.
Eligible consumers include anyone with a legal address in the U.S. who purchased an app or subscription, or made an in-app purchase through the Google Play store between August 2016 and September 2023.