STATEWIDE — NEW INFORMATION AND INSTRUCTIONS ON RECEIVING FUNDS FROM A $700 MILLION SETTLEMENT WITH GOOGLE are available from state Attorney General Letitia James.
She and a coalition of 53 attorneys general secured a settlement in December 2023 with Google for harming consumers over several years by suppressing competition and unfairly raising prices. This follows the bipartisan coalition’s 2021 lawsuit against Google, alleging that it unlawfully maintained a monopoly over mobile app distribution and in-app payment processing for Android devices, and used its monopoly power to charge consumers as much as 30% in fees for purchasing apps and making in-app purchases.
If the court approves this settlement, the majority of its funds will be used to pay consumers who made purchases on the Google Play Store between August 2016 and September 2023 and who suffered harm from Google’s anticompetitive conduct. Google will also make changes to stop its anticompetitive practices that harmed consumers and app developers.
Google has already paid $630 million into a settlement fund. Upon the settlement’s approval, consumers will receive an email from PayPal or a text from Venmo notifying them of their incoming payment at the email address or mobile phone number associated with their Google Play account.
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