This week, Attorneys General from 36 states and the District of Columbia filed a new antitrust lawsuit against Google alleging that the tech giant abused its power with the company’s Play Store on Android devices. Plaintiffs allege that anticompetitive practices used by Google have allowed them to extort a 30% commission from app developers on all Play Store sales. Google controls over 90% of the android app market, having previously held off attempts by fellow tech giants Amazon and Microsoft to break into the marketplace. The lawsuit claims that Google’s targeting of app stores attempting to compete has left developers with “no reasonable choice” but to distribute their content through the company’s Play Store. This is the fourth antitrust lawsuit brought against Google since October of last year as regulators seek to reign in the dominance of the nation’s largest technology firms. In addition to the multitude of lawsuits, a recent slate of tech focused antitrust bills marked up by the House Judiciary Committee further shows the governments focus on making the tech markets more competitive.
Members of the News/Media Alliance staff have contributed to this post.
