A US federal judge has begun scrutinising and questioning Google’s controversial $700 million settlement with all 50 states, over anticompetitive Android app store practices.
The judge noted the company would only provide small cash payouts to consumers, and could protect itself from future lawsuits.
District Judge James Donato described the deal, which was providing as little as U$2 per eligible consumer covered in the suit, and included a set of time-limited changes to the app store practices, as “a bag of not great.”
“It looks to me, just as a matter of basic math, any single person isn’t gonna be getting much.”
Donato has the final word over whether the settlement can move forward, and criticised the fact the agreement would protect the company from facing further lawsuits over the practices of its Play Store for seven years.
“This seems remarkably broad for the compensation you are proposing to pay for these claims.”
He also queried why the terms of the deal, which first appeared in December, didn’t address Google’s strategy of charging service fees of up to 30% on big developers in the Play store.
The lawsuit argued the fees result in higher prices and less consumer choice.
“Your agreement is telling these 127 million consumers that if they don’t like Google’s fees they can’t sue?”
When the hearing concluded, the judge gave the US states and Google 30 days to explain why the deal should be approved.
The terms of the settlement first arrived in December, days after Google was defeated in an antitrust case raised by Epic Games.
Part of the deal states Google will contribute U$630 million to a fund for consumers who could have overpaid for apps due to the practices of the Play Store.
Another U$70 million was to go towards covering legal fees and penalties in individual states.
A spokesperson for the company refused to comment on the remarks of the judge, and referred to the blog post made by Google last December.
“We’re pleased to reach an agreement that builds on that foundation and we look forward to making these improvements that will help evolve Android and Google Play for the benefit of millions of developers and billions of people around the world.”
Tim Sweeney, the CEO of Epic Games, was one of the more vocal critics, describing the terms of the settlement as “an injustice to all Android users and developers” and argued the states could’ve successfully secured billions in damages if the case was taken to trial.
Donato was also the presiding judge in the Epic Games case, and has been critical of Google’s tactics.
“This conduct is a frontal assault on the fair administration of justice. It undercuts due process. It calls into question just resolution of legal disputes. It is antithetical to our system.”
He said Google would be facing penalties separate from any final rulings in the Epic case. He is set to determine which practices must be discontinued by Google, following a jury finding the company was maintaining an illegal monopoly through the Play Store
