AUSTIN – Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, along with attorneys general from all states and several territories, has secured a $700 million agreement with Google over alleged anticompetitive conduct concerning the Google Play Store, a press release states.
Google must pay $630 million in restitution, minus costs and fees, to consumers who made purchases on the Google Play Store between August 2016 and September 2023 and were harmed by Google’s anticompetitive practices.
The tech giant will also pay the states an additional $70 million in penalties. The agreement also requires Google to adopt better business practices, reducing its unfair marketplace power over other companies and consumers.
The coalition of attorneys general sued Google in 2021 for unlawfully monopolizing the market of Android app distribution and in-app payment processing.
Specifically, Google signed anticompetitive contracts to prevent other app stores from being preloaded on Android devices, paid key app developers not to launch products on rival app stores, and created technological barriers to deter consumers from directly downloading apps to their devices, the release states.
“Texas has led the nation in the fight to hold giant tech companies accountable for monopolistic activity,” said Paxton. “I am proud that this settlement brought together so many states who recognized the importance of protecting free markets.”