A California judge has cleared the way for a potentially massive class-action lawsuit against Google, which stands accused - again - of anticompetitive practices surrounding its Play store.
In an order [
PDF] issued on Monday, District Judge James Donato said the plaintiffs in the case had proven that they met the stipulations to be defined as a class, opening the door for arguments at trial that will sound familiar to those aware of past app store antitrust cases.
The class in the case consists of all persons on 12 US states and territories, including Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, who bought an app or made an in-app purchase through the Google Play Store on or after August 16, 2016.
While agreeing that the plaintiffs have a valid class-based argument, Donato denied Google's request to reject submitted expert testimony the plaintiffs used to prove their class status.
As has been the case in other lawsuits against Google's Play Store - and Apple's App Store, for that matter - lawyers argue that Google maintains a monopoly on Android apps, and uses other anticompetitive behavior "to foreclose alternative and competing Android app distribution channels," Donato said in the opinion.
Google's purported monopoly on Android app installations allows it to charge a 30 percent commission on app and in-app purchases, the case claims. Lawyers are arguing that cost gets passed directly on to consumers, who end up paying inflated prices to make up for Google's cut.
www.theregister.com
