- Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL) agreed to settle a lawsuit with app developers for $90 million.
- The app developers accused Google of exploiting agreements with smartphone makers, technical barriers, and revenue-sharing deals to close the app ecosystem effectively and shunt most payments through its Google Play billing system with a default service fee of 30%, Reuters reports.
- Google earmarked $90 million to support app developers who made $2 million or less in annual revenue from 2016-2021.
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- Google would also charge developers a 15% commission on their first million in revenue from the Google Play Store each year.
- There were likely 48,000 app developers eligible to apply for the $90 million funds, and the minimum payout is $250 as per Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, who represented the plaintiffs.
- In 2021, Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) agreed to ease App Store restrictions on small developers, striking a deal in a class action. It also agreed to pay $100 million.
- In Washington, Congress is weighing legislation requiring Google and Apple to allow downloading apps without an app store.
- Price Action: GOOG shares closed lower by 2.57% at $2,187.45 on Thursday.
- Photo by Firmbee via Pixabay
