Alphabet’s (GOOGL.O) Google has agreed to pay $700 million and foster increased competition within its Play app store as part of an antitrust settlement with US states and consumers.
The details of this agreement were disclosed on Monday in a federal court situated in San Francisco.
Pending a judge’s final approval, the settlement outlines Google’s commitment to allocate $70 million to a fund designated for states and $630 million to a fund intended for consumers.
Qualifying users, as outlined in the settlement, stand to receive a minimum of $2, with the potential to receive more based on their expenditure on Google Play between August 16, 2016, and September 30, 2023.
Google faced allegations of overcharging customers through unjust program distribution restrictions in the Android app store and imposing unnecessary fees for in-app purchases. The company did not admit to any wrongdoing.
The details of the settlement were previously undisclosed until after Google’s associated trial involving “Fortnite” creator Epic Games.
The announcement of the settlement was made in September by lead plaintiff Utah and other states.
Recently, a federal jury in California, in agreement with Epic, found certain aspects of Google’s app business to be anticompetitive.
The settlement, according to a statement from Google Vice President for Government Affairs and Public Policy, Wilson White, “builds on Android’s choice and flexibility, maintains strong security protections, and retains Google’s ability to compete with other (operating system) makers, and invest in the Android ecosystem for users and developers.”
In addition to Play’s billing mechanism, the firm said it was extending the ability of app and game creators to provide customers an additional option for in-app purchases. Google claimed to have been testing “choice billing” for more than a year in the United States.
