A tentative agreement Thursday was reached with Google in a case brought by 52 attorneys general across the country, the attorney general for the state of West Virginia said.
The case focused on anticompetitive conduct involving the Google Play Store and alleged Google harmed consumers by using its monopoly power in the Android app market to inflate prices for paid apps and in-app purchases, Attorney General Patrick Morrisey said.
“No company is too big to play by the rules,” Morrisey said.
The agreement in principle will be finalized over the next 30 days and submitted to the court for approval, at which point the details will be made public, he said.
“Vigorous competition protects consumers and helps the economy thrive,” Morrisey said. “Our nation’s antitrust laws play a vital role in helping to foster innovation and ensure that consumers pay a fair price. Likewise, our nation loses when one company can use unlawful means to monopolize a particular market. We must feverishly oppose such tactics.” The lawsuit centers on Google’s alleged exclusionary conduct, which substantially shuts out competing app distribution channels, Morrisey said.
