Android users in 12 US states cleared to sue Google Play

A California judge has cleared the way for a potentially massive class-action lawsuit against Google, which stands accused - again - of anticompetitive practices surrounding its Play store. In an order [PDF] issued on Monday, District Judge James Donato said the plaintiffs in the case had proven that they met the stipulations …

[M.V. Lipvig]

Greedy greedy

100MM and the lawyer gets half. And they keep going baxknagain and again? I'd be done after one, as my lawyerin' share of 50MM would mean never working again.

[Martin-73]

Re: Greedy greedy

You sir are dronker than me. But yes you are essentially correct, we're all in the wrong trade

[Kevin McMurtrie]

How about APIs

Google also uses Play Store to force developers into using crippled APIs. This has been dumbing down phones from powerful Linux computers to web terminals. I have purchased apps that have become technically impossible to run.

Google says it's "for security" even though AOSP has a permissions management system. It's really about Google bottlenecking data through themselves at any cost, even if it kills the Android platform.

[Snake]

Re: dumbing down

I agree, but that is why I strictly prevent automatic updates on my [Android] phones.

For example, Google intentionally hobbled Total Commander and in the latest versions removed the permission to install APK from storage. I am fully capable of deciding Yes or No on that permission myself, Thank You Very Much, and I don't need nanny Google to up and force a complete removal just because *they* don't like it.

Allowed an update (my mistake, Total Commander is one of the very few apps I really trust[ed]); rolled back to an older version pronto once I discovered this (My Backup Pro archives to the rescue).

---------------------------------------------

Hang *both* Google and Apple out to dry.

[Totally not a Cylon]

Other devices?

Now apply this to other devices too....

Like cars and smart tvs.

Surely the infotainment system in modern cars counts as a mobile device like a smartphone or tablet?

and game consoles/handhelds, what about those?

[sgp]

Re: Other devices?

The infotainment system in my relatively modern car has this week informed me that its usage policy has been updated. Of course, there's no way to not accept it as the infotainment systems also controls things like ac. Dystopian nightmare.

[stiine]

timeframe?

When did Android introduce the ability to select alternate App stores?

[DoContra]

Re: timeframe?

I'm sorely tempted to say "since always", but you could do it at least from sometime between 4.x and 6.x[1], but even then (and now still) it is a bit of a faff:

- You need to download the .apk "from the interwebz"

- Then you need to toggle the "allow apps from untrusted sources" in Advanced/Developer settings

- Now you can click on the .apk and it will install the app store after a big scary warning

And, while not discussed in the article (likely also not mentioned in the class-action), many basic APIs (such as location IIRC) are google-specific and will only work with a device that comes with Google Play from the factory, modulo workarounds (3rd party reimplementations, getting a Developer Key to enable installation of Google Play on your non-google Android device); so your 3rd party store apps may have limited functionality

[1]: I bought my first cellphone in ~2015 (A mid-range Huawei), and installed F-Droid on it (3rd party store with FOSS apps)

[JohnnyLaw]

typical

Your article claims 12 states but only lists a few of them. Come on, don't do poor reporting. What are the remaining states?

[that one in the corner]

Re: typical

> What are the remaining states?

Superfluid

Plasma

Confusion

Ennui

Semicolon expected at end of line