MOSCOW: Alphabet, Google’s parent company, has agreed to pay out US$700 million and introduce some changes to its application store to settle an anti-trust lawsuit filed by a number of the US states, according to court documents filed in the California District Court, reported Sputnik.
In 2021, 36 US states and the District of Columbia filed a lawsuit alleging that Google had set up barriers to block alternative ways to pay for applications and had made deals to prevent the applications from spreading through other app distributors, media reported.
The company will pay US$630 million into the consumer settlement fund and US$70 million into the state settlement fund, according to the filings.
Developers will also be able to use an alternative payment system instead of Google Play’s one. Alphabet will also have to simplify the process of downloading applications directly from developers’ websites without the need to use the Google Play online store. –Bernama
