Google pays $90 million to Android app developers

Google, owned by Alphabet, has agreed to set up a $90 million fund as part of a proposed settlement of a legal dispute with US Android app developers over their revenue, in a bid to avoid what the search giant described as uncertainty stemming from the procedure.

Writing on the company’s corporate blog, Vice President of Government Affairs and Public Policy Wilson White said the fund aims to support US developers with Google Play revenues below $2 million. dollars each year from 2016 to 2021.

The proposed settlement has yet to be approved by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, where a class action lawsuit brought by Android developers against Google has been pending since August 2020.

Hagens Berman, a law firm representing developers, said the lawsuit alleged that Google violated antitrust laws and harmed developers through anticompetitive policies governing the Google Play Store.

Steve Berman, managing partner and co-founder of Hagens Berman, said the proposed settlement could benefit about 48,000 Android developers.

The company added that each class member will receive a minimum payout of $250, “with additional distributions served on a pro rata basis up to $200,000 and more.”

Berman noted that the company secured a $100 million settlement on behalf of US iOS developers over similar claims against Apple in 2021.

“We believe this pair of regulations sends a strong message to Big Tech: the law watches, and even the most powerful companies in the world are accountable when they stifle competition,” Berman said.

Google has also pledged to allow developers to pay a reduced service fee of 15% on their first $1 million in annual revenue until at least May 25, 2025, down from the previous rate of 30%.

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