Washington, D.C. – Today, Rick VanMeter, Executive Director of the Coalition for App Fairness (CAF), released the following statement in response to the settlement between state Attorneys General and Google in their case regarding the company’s anticompetitive conduct in the Google Play Store:
“The state Attorneys General who brought this case were right to call out Google’s anticompetitive conduct in the Play Store and seek justice for the residents of their states. However, monetary rewards from one of the world’s richest companies, absent substantive operational changes, are unlikely to deter harmful monopolistic behavior. Remedies that allow Google to continue taking high commissions for payments it does not process does not promote competition but reinforces the status quo.
“Given the strong and unanimous verdict by the jury in Epic’s case against Google, we hope the outcome is a real solution that truly allows for fair and open competition for all developers and consumers on Android. It’s critical that Congress pass app store reform legislation like the Open App Markets Act so all consumers on all mobile devices get the benefits of competition.”
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About the Coalition for App Fairness
The Coalition for App Fairness is an independent nonprofit organization formed to protect consumer choice, foster competition, and create a level playing field for all app and game developers globally. Originally formed by Basecamp, Blix, Blockchain.com, Deezer, Epic Games, the European Publishers Council, Match Group, News Media Europe, Prepear, Proton, Skydemon, Spotify, and Tile, CAF has rapidly grown from 13 to over 70 members since launching in September 2020. CAF offers membership to companies of any size — join today at appfairness.org.
CAF Contact
December 19, 2023