Google pay: Here’s how Nevada will benefit from litigation
Nevada is set to receive about $800,000 as part of a nationwide settlement stemming from Google’s anticompetitive practices in connection with the Google Play Store, Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford said in a statement.
The settlement requires the tech giant to pay roughly $630 million in restitution to individual users of its Play app store, and an additional $70 million in penalties to the states, the District of Columbia, and the territories of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
“Competition in the marketplace is at the heart of how our economy functions and provides the best products and services for consumers,” Ford said in the statement released Tuesday.
A bipartisan group of 52 attorneys general sued Google in 2021, alleging that it had signed anticompetitive contracts to prevent other app stores from being preloaded onto Android devices; bought off key app developers who might have launched rival app stores; and created barriers to deter consumers from directly downloading apps to their devices.
“This settlement shows that large corporations like Google will not be allowed to monopolize the market,” Ford said, adding that Google would be held “accountable” for such practices.
Nevada consumers who made purchases on Google Play Store between August 2016 and September 2023 and were harmed by Google’s practices will be able to tap into the $630 million restitution fund.
Eligible consumers do not have to submit a claim; instead, they can receive automatic payments through PayPal or Venmo, or can elect to receive a check or ACH transfer. More details about that process are forthcoming, according to Ford’s statement.
In addition to levying monetary penalties, the settlement agreement forces Google to take verifiable steps to ensure that its business runs more competitively for at least the next five years.
The settlement agreement also requires Google to allow the installation of third-party apps on Android phones from outside the Google Play Store for at least the next seven years.
The lawsuit against Google was led by the attorneys general from North Carolina, Utah, Tennessee, New York and California. It was joined by the attorneys general of the remaining states and, for much of the case, the attorneys general litigated alongside Match and Epic Games, two major app developers.
Match announced a separate settlement with Google earlier this year.
Epic Games took its case to trial, where a federal jury in San Francisco found earlier this month that Google’s anticompetitive conduct violated federal antitrust laws. Google said it plans to appeal.
Contact Peter S. Levitt at plevitt@reviewjournal.com.
