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Google class action seeks €1.1bn app commission damages

/ 19th July 2022 /
Alex O’Neill

Google faces a UK trial over an estimated £920m damages claim (€1.1bn) after a court authorised a lawsuit that alleges the Alphabet-owned tech giant overcharged 19.5 million customers for app store purchases.

The class action, which was certified by the Competition Appeal Tribunal, alleges Google abused its dominant position by charging up to 30% commission on popular apps on its Play Store, including Roblox, Candy Crush Saga and Tinder since October 2015.

A detailed judgment has yet to be published, a spokesperson for the claimant group said on Tuesday.

Google did not immediately reply to requests for comment.

Regulators, rivals and consumer champions are trying to curb Big Tech, filing lawsuits across the globe against the likes of Google and rival Apple over alleged anti-competitive behaviour.

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The European Commission has fined Google more than €8bn in recent years over anti-trust practices.

The latest British case against Google, which is not expected to come to trial before 2024, is brought by Liz Coll, a former digital policy manager at the non-profit Citizens Advice service. She is being advised by law firm Hausfeld.

Google
UK trial
Regulators, rivals and consumer champions are filing lawsuits against Big Tech. (Pic:Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Coll alleges in the lawsuit that the Play Store commission is unlawful and unjustifiable, breaching European and British competition laws, and that Google is abusing its dominant position at the expense of British Android smartphone and tablet users.

Google generated $11.2bn in revenue from its mobile app store in 2019, a court filing unsealed last year showed.

+Additional reporting Reuters

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