Judge grants final approval of $700 million Android app antitrust settlement
Judge grants final approval of $700 million Android app antitrust settlement
Publish Date: 2026-04-30 18:11:00
Source Domain: www.courthousenews.com
SAN FRANCISCO (CN) — A federal judge Thursday granted final approval to a $700 million settlement over Google’s monopoly of the Android smartphone application market.
U.S. District Judge James Donato said he didn’t see a reason for denying final approval of the settlement, but the Barack Obama appointee raised several issues with the $85 million in attorneys’ fees request by the consumers.
The settlement resolves claims brought by a class of consumers and a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general from all 50 states — along with the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands — that Google violated state and federal monopoly laws.
Under the agreement, Google paid $630 million in restitution — minus costs and fees — for people who made purchases on the Google Play Store between Aug. 16, 2016, and Sept. 30, 2023, and were harmed by the Silicon Valley giant’s anticompetitive actions. The tech company additionally agreed to pay the states an additional $70 million in costs, fees and penalties.
Since Google paid the $700 million settlement in May 2024, the settlement and states’ fund have grown to $660 million and $75 million, respectively, through investments, according to Karma Giulianelli of Bartlit Beck, an attorney for the consumer class.
Donato granted preliminary approval of the settlement on Nov. 20, 2025, and ordered that eligible consumers in the class be notified. Since then, more than 106 million eligible class members have received direct notice of the settlement, with less than 500 opting out and zero objecting, according to Jayme Weber, an attorney with the Arizona Attorney General’s Office.
No claims are required for affected people to receive a payment. Automatic payments will occur through PayPal or Venmo, though people can instead request to use an alternative payment method such as Zelle or electronic transfer. According to the states, each settlement consumer is eligible to receive at least $2, and may receive a…
