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Google on Monday announced details of sweeping settlements with all 50 states. This includes expanding options for developers to use their own billing systems, leaving app makers with options that could lead to savings for consumers on in-app subscriptions and services. has been done.
important facts
Google has announced that it will allow all U.S. developers an alternative “user-choice billing” option. That means app developers will be able to pay Google a commission of between 11% and 26% on all purchases, in-app purchases, and subscriptions from the Play Store.
Google previously forced all developers to use an in-house billing system that offered a 15% reduction, rising to 30% after the first $1 million in purchases.
Google began piloting a “user-choice pricing” program with Spotify and Bumble in 2022, but it’s unclear whether reduced fees were applied to other developers before the settlement, The Verge reported a year later. Ta.
Developers can lower prices and pass the savings on to consumers, or they can simply decide to keep the extra profits.
Google also said it would “streamline” the ability for users to sideload apps, or download apps directly from a developer’s website, which would allow some developers to demand the quality they want from apps they sell on the Play Store. This will help reduce management and verification costs.
Main background
Google reached a settlement agreement in September in a massive lawsuit brought by attorneys general from all 50 states, but details of the agreement were not made public until Monday. As part of the agreement, Google will pay $630 million into a settlement fund, which will then be distributed to consumers. Another $70 million will be paid directly to the state. Eligible consumers who used the Play Store between August 2016 and September 2023 will receive a minimum payment of $2, with additional cash for app store spending during that period. there is a possibility.
chief critic
Epic Games, a major game developer that is also involved in a legal dispute with Google, criticized the settlement, with CEO Tim Sweeney calling it “unfair to all Android users and developers.” Corey Wright, Epic Games’ vice president of public policy, said this “doesn’t get to the heart of Google’s illegal and anticompetitive conduct.” Wright called the user-choice billing system “deceptively labeled” and still receives 11% to 26% reductions “on top of payments that Google has no role in processing.” criticized. The popular video game publisher announced just a week before the settlement was announced that he had won an antitrust lawsuit against Google and was seeking meaningful relief to “truly open up the Android ecosystem.” He said he intended to do so.
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