10:37
Brief
News Briefs
Coalition of states join lawsuit accusing Google of anti-competitive practices
Google’s New York office is shown in lower Manhattan on March 5, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Missouri is among 36 states suing Google over allegations the tech firm is operating a monopoly with its app store and Google Billing.
The states claim Google paid off competitors and used contracts to create a monopoly for its app store on Android phones and Google Billing.
“As we’ve repeatedly seen and as we allege in our lawsuit, big tech companies like Google have leveraged their massive, dominant market position to stymie smaller companies and drive out competition, all while lining their own pockets to the tune of billions,” Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, who is a candidate for U.S. Senate, said in a press release.
In response to the lawsuit, Google said in a blog post that the challenge comes from a few major app developers that want preferential treatment. “Android and Google Play provide openness and choice that platforms simply don’t,” Google wrote, according to Reuters.
The latest legal challenge is led by Utah, New York, North Carolina and Tennessee.
Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our web site. Please see our republishing guidelines for use of photos and graphics.
Related News
