Google to pay $90m to settle lawsuit over anti-competitive behavior on the Play Store

Google is to pay $90 million to settle a class-action lawsuit with US developers over alleged anti-competitive behavior regarding the Google Play Store. Eligible for a share in the $90 million fund are US developers who earned two million dollars or less in annual revenue through Google Play between 2016 and 2021. "A vast …

[Pascal Monett]

"a proposed settlement that [..] avoids years of uncertain and distracting litigation"

In other words, the lawyers have got a good deal.

[Gene Cash]

Re: "a proposed settlement that [..] avoids years of uncertain and distracting litigation"

Nah, the lawyers would have it better if the suit went ahead, as they could have charged for those years of uncertain and distracting litigation.

I think it's not quite so uncertain. I think in today's climate, Google not only would have taken a stiff broom up the fundament, but they would have established case history that extortionate fees are a bad idea.

[John Brown (no body)]

Re: "a proposed settlement that [..] avoids years of uncertain and distracting litigation"

Agreed. The only reason it could be "years of uncertain and distracting litigation" is if Google fight it it court. The people claiming against Google would love it to be over as quickly as possible, with Google found guilty. Clearly Google think either a) they will lose or b) it'll cost them much much more in a long case. This means they expect to lose, or at least have stuff come out they don't want to come out and are spinning it as doing the litigants a favour.

[An_Old_Dog]

Dev Refund Application Process

"Just fill out our standard form within the specified time period to be considered for qualification to the affected class," said Google's lawyers.

"The forms? Oh, errhmm, cough, cough, they're in the filing cabinet of our Refund Department."

Would that be in the locked filing cabinet in a disused restroom in the basement, behind a door with a sign reading, 'Beware of the leopard'?

(Icon because lawyers are involved.)

[Richard Jones 1]

Making The Unusable, More Unusable

I cannot be bothered to venture into the snake pit that is app stores. So, other than a tiny number of Google's own apps, and a few from others such as a bank or two, I have avoided the rip-off activities of the hype vendors. Do they really have anything that would enrich my life more than they cost?

[Dinanziame]

Google: I'm going to pay you $90 millions to fuck off

[FozzyBear]

You have to admit Google have come a long way from their early "Do no evil" days

[Mayday]

Nothing's Changed

They just don't pretend anymore.

[low_resolution_foxxes]

Ironically, we only originally started to use Google because they were different to the abysmal AOL / MSN / Lycos search engines.

It was quite pleasant to have a plain white screen without celebrity gossip splattered everywhere.

Now, Google ads in the search engine page are starting to proliferate and become annoying.

I started using Qwant as a I vaguely trust the French and it seems to work well for most things except mapping (rapid historic pitchfork activity has kept the French government in check).