Washington. Google will pay $90 million to settle a lawsuit filed against it by app developers in federal court in San Francisco. App developers had accused Google of entering into agreements, technical barriers, and revenue sharing with smartphone makers to shut down the app ecosystem and route most payments through its Google Play billing system with a default service tax of 30 per cent. can be separated.
In this regard, Google said in a blog post that it would fund $90 million to app developers whose annual revenue was $2 million or less from 2016 to 20211. Google further said that most US developers who generate revenue through Google Play will be eligible to receive funding from this fund. Google said it would continue to charge a 15 % commission from developers earning $1 million or less annually from the Google Play Store.
The court must approve the proposed settlement
According to Hagens Burman Sobol Shapiro, representing the plaintiffs in court, there are potentially 48,000 app developers eligible for this 90 million fund. He said that each of these developers would be paid at least $250. Apple Inc. last year agreed to ease App Store restrictions on small developers and pay $100 million.
Congress considering making a law
Congress in Washington is currently considering a law that would permit Google and Apple to enable sideloading or downloading of apps without utilizing the App Store. Additionally, the companies would be prohibited from mandating that app providers utilize the payment systems of Google and Apple.
