This Time Google... Full-Scale Antitrust Lawsuit Battle with US State Governments

36 State Governments Including Utah and New York
"App Market Play Store Unfair"
Comprehensive Pressure Following Digital Advertising

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondents Baek Jong-min and Kwon Jae-hee] Thirty-six U.S. state governments are launching a lawsuit against Google. The reason is that Google has continued unfair practices by leveraging its dominant position in its application (app) marketplace, the Play Store. Following previous lawsuits filed by the Department of Justice and state governments against Google for unfair practices in the search engine business and digital advertising sector, this time the pressure is expanding comprehensively by adding allegations of abuse of dominance in the app market.

On the 7th (local time), according to Bloomberg News and The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), 36 state governments including Utah, New York, and California filed a lawsuit in the Northern District Court of California regarding Google's unfair practices in the Play Store.

This lawsuit is separate from the previous lawsuits related to digital advertising and search engine business filed by the Department of Justice and state governments, and WSJ evaluated that a new front has opened in the regulatory competition against Google.

This lawsuit is a follow-up measure that gained momentum amid calls for stronger regulation of app markets as the major digital economy shifts from PC-centered to mobile-centered. According to app analytics company App Annie, a total of $143 billion flowed into the mobile app market last year alone, representing a 20% increase compared to the previous year.

Over the past decade, Google has dominated as the main gatekeeper for apps downloaded on smartphones using the Android operating system (OS), building a digital empire worth billions of dollars. To use Google's payment system, apps distributed through the Play Store are required, and a commission fee of 15-30% is charged on payments made through it.

Google lowered its commission rate from 30% to 15% ahead of the mandatory 'in-app payment' policy starting this October, but controversy continues. The commission reduction is limited only to content sectors such as video, audio, and books, provoking strong opposition from industries like gaming. Additionally, the eligibility criteria focus on apps with over 100,000 monthly active users and high user ratings, with Google reviewing various conditions to decide whether to apply the commission reduction. Ultimately, the commission rate cut is criticized as a 'trick' by Google.

However, there is speculation that it may be difficult for the state governments to win this lawsuit. Unlike Apple, which exclusively distributes apps through the App Store, Google allows apps to be used through other app markets on phones equipped with Android OS, not just the Play Store.

Following this news, Alphabet, Google's parent company, saw its stock price fall by 4.55 points in after-hours trading.

Meanwhile, former U.S. President Donald Trump filed a lawsuit in the Southern District Court of Florida against Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook; Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter; and Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and YouTube. This action was taken after these social networking services (SNS) suspended Trump's accounts due to his spreading of false information related to his refusal to accept the November presidential election defeat and the January Capitol riot by his supporters.

Former President Trump stated, "This lawsuit will prove that such censorship by SNS companies is illegal, unconstitutional, and completely un-American," and demanded, "Order an immediate halt to this illegal and shameful censorship."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.