As many as 36 US states and Washington DC have filed a lawsuit against Google, alleging that the search engine giant's control over its Android app store violates antitrust laws. Also read: Regulation may be needed for Apple, Google app stores if changes not made: Australian regulator“Worse yet, Google is squeezing the lifeblood out of millions of small businesses that are only seeking to compete. Technical barriersThe lawsuit alleges that Google imposes technical barriers that strongly discourage or completely prevent third-party app developers from distributing apps outside the Google Play Store. “Google forces app developers and app users alike to use Google’s payment processing service — Google Play Billing — to process any payments for purchases of digital content made in apps obtained through the Google Play Store,” it said. “Thus, Google is unlawfully tying the use of Google’s payment processor — which is a separate service within a separate market for payment processing within apps — to distribution through the Google Play Store.

Source: The Hindu July 08, 2021 02:15 UTC