Google Agrees to Pay $700 Million in Antitrust Settlement With US States

Google said on Monday that it would pay $700 million to settle a lawsuit filed by a group of U.S. states that accused the internet giant of running a monopoly on its Play Store to inflate prices for paid apps.

The company agreed to pay $630 million into a settlement fund for consumers and $70 million into a fund that will be used by the states, according to the settlement, which still requires a court’s final approval.

The settlement said that 102 million eligible consumers across 50 states will receive at least $2 and may get additional payments based on their spending on Google Play between Aug. 16, 2016 and Sept. 30, 2023.

The company said that app and game developers will now be able to implement an alternative billing option alongside Google Play’s billing system for their U.S. users, “who can then choose which option to use when making in-app purchases.”

Wilson White, Google vice president for government affairs and public policy, stated that the company has been piloting user choice billing in the United States for over a year and will now widen this option.

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