Alphabet, Google's parent company, has agreed to pay 260 million pounds (about 353 million dollars, or 1.82 billion reais) to settle a class action lawsuit in the United Kingdom that accused the company of charging "unfair and excessive" commissions to developers selling apps on the Google Play Store. The deal was announced on Thursday (August 27), according to a Financial Times report, and confirmed by the London newspaper City AM with Geradin Partners, the law firm representing the claimants.
The case was filed with the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT), a British court specialized in competition disputes. The lawsuit alleged that Google abused its dominant market position to impose excessive fees on developers who build apps for Android, the operating system used on most of the world's smartphones. The settlement came just before a ten-week trial due to start on September 15, City AM reported. Alphabet admitted no liability, and the payment still requires the tribunal's approval.
Where the money goes
Of the total, 160 million pounds are reserved for British developers if the court approves the deal. The remaining 100 million pounds will cover litigation funding, legal fees and other expenses, the Financial Times reported. The claim was financed by Bench Walk, a litigation funding firm, and led by competition law professor Barry Rodger, who had sought up to 1 billion pounds in damages.
UK-based developers who sold content through the Play Store since August 2018 are eligible for compensation unless they opt out. Payouts vary according to each company's qualifying sales: from a fixed floor of 200 pounds for the smallest developers to several million pounds for the largest, according to the Financial Times.
In a statement, Rodger called the settlement "excellent" for thousands of developers who had, in his words, "little choice but to pay Google's commission." Damien Geradin, founding partner of the firm representing the class, told City AM it is the largest settlement to date under the UK's collective action regime for competition claims, putting money in developers' hands less than three years after the claim was filed. A Google spokesperson said the company is "pleased to reach an agreement with the developers to end this litigation, subject to court approval."
The case adds to a series of collective actions against big tech companies in the UK. Apple faces a similar claim over its App Store fees, filed in 2021 on behalf of nearly 20 million British users, according to City AM. For developers, the settlement shows that app store commission models can be successfully challenged in court with real compensation at stake. For end consumers, any effect on app prices would be indirect and depend on how companies pass on possible changes to platform fees.