Washington, United States

The Alphabet-owned internet firm is accused of overcharging 19.5 million users for app store purchases, as per a case that was approved by the court. The tech company is now facing a trial in London over an estimated 1.1-billion-dollar ($920 million) damages claim. The Competition Appeal Tribunal certified the class action alleging that Google had abused its dominant position by imposing up to a 30 per cent commission on well-known apps such as Candy Crush Saga and Tinder since the year 2015. A spokeswoman from the claimant group indicated that a detailed judgment has not been made public, Reuters reported. 

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However, Google hasn’t responded to the matter as of now. 

Also read | California: First-of-its-kind proposal will no longer let parents sue social media companies

Regulators, competitors and consumer advocate are suing big tech companies like Google and Apple for alleged anti-competitive behaviour in an effort to rein in.

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In recent years, Google alone has been fined $8.2 billion by the European Union alone for antitrust violations. 

Watch | Google faces $1 billion UK trial over app store pricing

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Liz Coll filed the most recent British lawsuit against Google, which is not expected to go to trial until 2024. She is a former digital policy manager at Citizens Advice, a non-profit organisation. 

Coll in the case claimed, that Google is abusing its dominant position to the detriment of the British Android smartphones and tablets customers using Play Store commission is illegal and unjustifiable, which is violates both European and British competition rules.

Also read | Google to slow down hiring, says Sundar Pichai in a memo to staff

As per the court document released last year, tech firm Google’s mobile app store brought in a revenue of $11.2 billion in the year 2019. 

(With inputs from agencies)

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