Google may face 4th government lawsuit over its business practices
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The
lawsuit
is
expected
to
be
filed
in
February
or
March
and
would
follow
complaints
about
Google’s
management
of
its
Play
Store.
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Images
State
attorneys
general
are
planning
another lawsuit against Google,
this
one
focused
on
the
search
and
advertising
giant’s Play Store
for
Android
phones,
according
to
two
sources
familiar
with
the
matter.
The lawsuit is
expected
to
be
filed
in
February
or
March,
the
sources
said,
and
it
would
follow
complaints
about Google’s
management
of
its Play Store
even
though
the
company
was
originally
seen
as
more
open
about
its
app
store
than
Apple.
Including
a
Justice
Department lawsuit filed
against Google in
October,
the
possible
new
action
would
be
the
fourth
government lawsuit brought
against
the
Silicon
Valley
company
since
late
2020.
All
allege
that Google abused
its
dominance
of
the
internet
search
business
or
otherwise
broke
antitrust
law.
Google bans
apps
with
objectionable
content
from
its
store,
and
further
requires
that
some
apps
use
the
company’s
payment
tools
and
pay Google as
much
as
30
percent
of
their
revenue.
Those
and
related
policies
prompted
criticism
from
app
developers,
particularly
when Google said
last
year
it
would
ramp
up
enforcement. Google’s Play Store
is
far
more
widely
used
than
similar
products
from
Amazon,
Samsung,
Huawei
and
others.
The
probe
will
be
headed
by
attorneys
general
of
New
York,
Utah
and
North
Carolina,
and
other
states
are
also
expected
to
join,
one
of
the
sources
said.
Asked
to
comment
on
the
possible
new
legal
action, Google said
in
a
statement
that
its
Android
mobile
operating
system
has
allowed
users
access
to
multiple
app
stores,
which
means
that
developers
have
options.
“Most
Android
devices
ship
with
at
least
two
app
stores
preinstalled,
and
consumers
are
able
to
install
additional
app
stores,”
Sameer
Samat,
vice
president
of
Android
and Google Play,
said
in
a
statement.
“This
openness
means
that
even
if
a
developer
and Google do
not
agree
on
business
terms
the
developer
can
still
distribute
on
the
Android
platform,”
he
said.
Video
game
maker
Epic
Games
sued Google and
Apple
separately
in
US
district
court
in
August,
accusing
the
companies
of
using
their
dominance
to
charge
app
developers
an
“exorbitant”
fee
of
30
percent
on
sales
and
of
imposing
other
restrictions.
Apple,
whose
app
store
does
not
directly
compete
with Google’s
because
it
is
not
compatible
with
Android
devices,
is
under
Justice
Department
investigation
for
its
policies.
After
more
than
a
year
of
investigations
into
the
four
major
tech
platforms,
including
Facebook,
Amazon
and
Apple,
the
Justice
Department
was
first
out
of
the
gate
with
a lawsuit against Google focused
on
its
search
business
and
search
advertising.
In
addition,
two
groups
of
state
attorneys
general
filed lawsuits
last
year,
one
led
by
Texas
and
focused
on
advertising.
The
other
targeted Google’s
alleged
efforts
to
extend
its
dominance
in
search
to
newer
markets,
like
voice
assistants.
Source : Reuters Link
