Google to Pay £260 Million to Settle App Developer Class Action

Alphabet has agreed to pay £260 million ($354 million) to settle a UK class action accusing the US firm of abusing its dominance and charging excessive commissions to app developers.

The claim alleged Google imposed “excessive and unfair” commissions for transactions through its Play Store. The action was brought on behalf of UK app developers by Barry Rodger, a competition law professor.

The Competition Appeal Tribunal will consider approving the settlement at a hearing in September, according to a statement from the claimant and his lawyers. UK domiciled app developers that sold digital content through Play Store-distributed apps from August 2018 are potentially eligible for compensation if they don’t opt out.

“This is the largest settlement to date” under the UK’s class action regime for competition claims, introduced in 2015, according to Damien Geradin, who represented the app developers.

Another class action on behalf of millions of Android phone users in the UK remains pending. Google spokespeople didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.