Tech giant, Google has agreed to pay $90 million to settle a legal fight with app developers over the funds they earned in developing apps for Android smartphones and for drawing in users to make in-app purchases, as per the court filing. The lawsuit filed by the app developers in federal court in San Francisco had accused Google of employment agreements with smartphone manufacturers, technical impediments, and revenue sharing agreements.
Google Will Put Up $90 Million in a Fund to Support App Developers
According to the lawsuit, the accused actions of Google have effectively closed the app ecosystem and shunt most payments through its Google Play billing system with a default service fee of 30%. As part of the suggested settlement, Google stated in a blog post it would put $90 million in a fund to support app developers who made $2 million or less in annual revenue from 2016-2021. “A vast majority of US developers who earned revenue through Google Play will be eligible to receive money from this fund if they choose,” Google said in the blog post.
Google further stated that it would also charge app developers a 15% commission on their first million in revenue from the Google Play Store each year. It began doing this in 2021. The court must approve the suggested settlement. There were probably 48,000 app developers qualified to apply for the $90 million funds, and the minimum payout is $250, according to Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, who represented the complainants.
Last Year Apple Also Agreed to Loosen App Store Regulations
In addition to this, Apple agreed last year to loosen App Store regulations on small developers, striking a deal in a class-action lawsuit. It also agreed to pay $100 million. In Washington, Congress is contemplating a ruling that would require Google and Apple to allow sideloading or the practice of downloading apps without using an app store. Google says it already permits sideloading. It would also bar them from requiring that app providers use Google and Apple’s payment systems.
Read more: Google Will Now Start Paying for its Use of Wikipedia Content
