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Google sued by 36 states over Play Store dominance. This is its response.
June 22, 2025
It’s official. Google is now facing yet another antitrust lawsuit. After arecent reportsuggested a new suit was imminent, 36 states and Washington D.C. have now officially filed a case against the tech giant calling into question the Google Play Store’s control.
The suit draws attention to Google’s service fees garnered from developers for consumer purchases made within the Store. But Google believes the suit, instead of defending users’ choice, “ignores” it completely.
PerPolitico, the states’ case argues that Google dominates the Android app ecosystem and stifles challenges from third-party stores. However, in alengthy statementissued by Google’s Public Policy lead Wilson White, the firm claims that the suit attacks “a system that provides more openness and choice than others.”
Google’s arguments
In the statement, Google argues that it doesn’t just compete against other Android OEMs but also Apple and its App Store. The company claims that Apple is its primary competitor in terms of app store revenue.
“We compete for both developers and consumers, and if we’re not providing them with the best experience on Google Play, they have other alternatives to choose from,” Google adds.
Google also believes the Play Store “increases competition,” specifically mentioning that it’s not the only way users can install apps on Android. It mentions the ability to sideload apps on Android, the presence of other app stores baked into other OEM devices, and allowing developers to promote other app stores beyond the Play Store.
Ahead ofAndroid 12‘s launch, the company announced plans to introduce Play Store-like functionality forthird-party storeson the OS. Although it’s a move that benefits both consumers and developers, the lawsuit paints this particular decision in a new light.
Finally, Google claims the Play Store benefits both consumers and developers economically. It argues that most developers pay no service fees and those that do account for less than 3%.
The company also mentions its recent15% service charge decreasefor the first $1 million made by developers. Nevertheless, the company still takes a cut of 30% beyond this figure and plans to enforce all apps listed on the Play Store to use its billing service. This would force the likes of Netflix, Epic Games, and Tinder owner Match Group to adhere to Google’s billing system and commission figures beginning September.
The other antitrust suits
The latest antitrust suit comes after a busy few months for Google’s lawyers.
Fortnite developerEpic Games sued Googleand Apple back in August 2020, presenting a similar argument against the Play Store and the App Store. Google does mention Epic Games in its statement, highlighting the similarity of the two suits and labeling both as “meritless.” Just days after Epic’s move,another suitcalling out Google’s 30% commission fee was filed in California.
In October, Google was hit by asuit from the US Justice Departmentfor its online search and advertising practices. Google’s also facing legal action in the EU over itssearch engine dominancein the region.
Ultimately, Google claims that the latest lawsuit brought by the states will harm the small developers and consumers they aim to protect. See its closing comment below.
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