One of the more notable headlines last week was Epic Games’ victory against Google in the District Court of Northern California. The three-year-long legal battle was settled by a jury, which determined that Google had a monopoly on the Android app distribution market and in-app billing services. That court settlement wasn’t the only one fought by Google as the Android maker also faced an anti-trust lawsuit against a coalition of attorneys general from all 50 US states.
Google reached a settlement with US legal officials in September, and we now have the full settlement details, which include a $700 million contribution to a settlement fund and some changes to Play Store operations in the US.
Google will pay $630 million in a settlement fund “to be distributed for the benefit of customers pursuant to a court-approved plan”. The remaining $70 million will be placed into a fund used by all 50 US states coordinated by each state’s attorney general.
Google will allow Android smartphone manufacturers to pre-load third-party app stores on their devices and allow developers to implement alternative app billing options. User Preferred Billing will allow app developers to show users different pricing options within their app or game that bypasses the Play Store.
Developers will also be able to publish app store fees on the Play Store. Google also confirmed that it will simplify the process of sideloading apps with APIs and feature splitting options to help install apps.
