36 States file a lawsuit against Google’s Play Store fees, alleging anticompetitive behaviour

Maybe you have been checking out how the Apple vs Epic lawsuit has been going recently, as the game maker company has set upon suing Apple for the App Store monopoly and the 30% fee it takes from purchases on Apple devices. Now, Google seems to be facing a similar situation, with 36 states filing a lawsuit against it and its Google Play store alleged monopoly, reports Bloomberg.

Google is facing a lawsuit for the 30% fee it imposes on developers for purchases made via the Play Store

36 states have now filed a complaint alleging that Google has used its position to impose a 30% fee on developers. Leading the complaint are the states of New York, Utah, North Carolina, and Tennessee. New York Attorney General Letitia James states that Google has now become the gatekeeper of users’ digital devices, and added that users now pay more for the software they use every day.

Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes states that Google’s monopoly is a menace to the marketplace.

Additionally, the complaint accuses the tech giant that it has used its position to pay Samsung to restrict the company from competing with Google’s Play Store store with a separate store for Galaxy device apps. The lack of competition, therefore, leads to higher prices of software.

On the other hand, Google’s Senior Director of Public Policy, Wilson White, stated in a blog post that Google doesn’t impose the same restrictions as other mobile operating systems do and that Android provides more choice and openness to consumers.