Google went to trial at the UK’s Competition Appeal Tribunal over claims that its Play Store commission of up to 30% pushed up prices for roughly 20 million UK consumers since 2015, with lawyers for the class seeking around £1.2 billion, according to Bloomberg. Lawyers for class representative Liz Coll argued in filings that Google faced no real competition and used that position to charge unfair prices and earn outsized returns for almost 20 years. Google wants the claim dismissed, arguing it doesn’t dominate the business of handling digital purchases between developers and users and that Play’s fees are among the lowest available. The same tribunal ruled last year that Apple overcharged developers with its App Store commission, a decision the Court of Appeal will hear next year.
