Google class action lawsuit overview:
- Who: Professor Barry Rodger filed a class action lawsuit against Google and its parent company, Alphabet.
- Why: Rodger claims Google abused its dominant position in the market to overcharge United Kingdom app developers for using its Play Store.
- Where: The class action lawsuit was filed in the UK’s Competition Appeal Tribunal.
A United Kingdom court has ruled that a £1 billion class action lawsuit against Google can proceed to trial.
The class action lawsuit, filed by European Union and UK competition law academic Professor Barry Rodger, alleges Google abused its dominant position in the market to overcharge UK app developers who sold apps on its Play Store to Android customers.
The lawsuit seeks compensation for the losses in revenue suffered by those businesses, many of whom are small- and medium-sized enterprises, from August 2018 onward.
The UK’s Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) published a collective proceedings order confirming its decision to certify the claim, authorizing Rodger to act as the class representative and permitting the claim to proceed to trial.
The trial is set to commence in October 2026.
Google Play Store fees as high as 30%, lawsuit claims
The lawsuit claims Google charges up to 30% in fees for the sale of digital content, although developers with revenue streams of $1 million or less are subject to a fee of 15%.
Rodger claims Google used its dominant position to require developers to pay excessive and unfair commissions on all their sales of digital content. This raised concerns leading to the Google Play Store UK class action.
“Google abuses its Play Store monopoly by imposing excessive commissions, harming small business app developers and stifling crucial innovation and growth in the UK tech landscape,” Rodger said in his lawsuit.
Rodger claims Google uses a variety of technical and contractual restrictions to keep UK app developers in the Play Store.
“In a fair market, app developers would be paying less to distribute their apps and sell their digital content,” he said.
Rodger says that while sideloading was technically possible on Android phones and there are alternative Android app stores, Google took steps to undermine those as alternative methods of distributing apps and in-app content.
A Google spokesperson argued the lawsuit “ignores the benefits and choice Android and Google Play provide as well as the competitive market in which we operate and we will defend it vigorously.”
In 2023, Google faced anti-trust allegations from the European Commission (EC) accusing Google of favoring its own online display advertising services.
Have you ever sold apps on the Google Play Store? Let us know in the comments.
The plaintiff is represented by Geradin Partners Ltd.
The Google class action lawsuit is Rodger v. Alphabet Inc., et al., Case No. 1673/7/7/24, in the Competition Appeal Tribunal.
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One thought on Google faces £1B UK class action over Play Store fees
As a UK-based app developer, I welcome this action on behalf of our community. Many of us have little support when facing the overwhelming power of US tech giants like Google, especially since we are not protected by the European Digital Services Act.
I have developed and sold several apps and in-app purchases on the Google Play Store. Unfortunately, my most successful apps were suspended without warning or clear explanation. Despite having substantial evidence to counter Google’s allegations, I simply do not have the resources to challenge their actions alone.
This experience has left me feeling powerless—much like being bullied, where those with more power act without accountability, and victims have nowhere to turn except to authorities.
I believe a class action lawsuit is the only realistic way for UK developers to seek justice for unfair, non-transparent suspensions and moderation. The appeals process is ineffective: emails are ignored or rejected, and in my case, Google even refused to escalate my dispute to their own chosen third-party resolution body (CEDR). Instead, they told me to resubmit a “policy-compliant” version of my app, without ever specifying what was wrong. This forces developers to guess at the issue, risking further suspensions or even permanent account bans, all without meaningful feedback or accountability.
I hope my story encourages others to come forward. We need collective action to ensure fair treatment and restore trust for UK app developers who rely on platforms like Google Play to reach customers