Google faces £1.2bn UK lawsuit over Android Play Store charges
Millions of UK Android users could get compensation in a £1.2bn class action claiming Google charged unfair commission on Play Store app and in-app purchases.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
Google is facing a £1.2bn class action in the UK over charges linked to its Android app store.
The claim is being brought on behalf of around 20 million UK consumers and businesses who bought something on the Google Play Store on an Android phone between 1 October 2015 and July this year. A tribunal will look at whether Google overcharged for subscription-based apps and extra features on free apps. Google denies any wrongdoing.
Lawyers for the claimants allege that Google broke competition law by charging developers up to 30% in commission and passing some of those costs on to customers. The case covers subscription payments for dating, fitness, music and gaming apps, as well as upgrades to unlock ad-free versions or extra features. It also includes in-game payments for extras such as coins, gems, extra lives or power-ups on popular free apps including Candy Crush, Duolingo and Roblox.
The claim is worth around £1.2bn. If it succeeds, those bringing the case say consumers could receive average compensation payments of around £60 each. The estimated 20 million affected UK users are described as pretty much anyone not using an Apple iPhone, because Android users get their apps through the Google Play Store. The scale is significant, and similar cases have been brought in the United States and Australia. This is the first time UK consumers can have their case heard through the competition court.
Apple lost a similar case on app sales and in-app purchases last year. Google has already agreed to pay £260 million to settle a claim made by UK app developers. In response to the latest action, Google said Android gives people more choice than any other mobile platform, that Play offers some of the lowest fees in the market, and that it would defend its services vigorously.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, grouped by how many channels reported each one. Select a dot to see the source excerpt.
| Claim |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| Reported by all 2 channels | ||
| A class action covers around 20 million UK consumers and businesses who made purchases on the Google Play Store via Android phones between October 2015 and July this year. | Reported by BBC One | |
| Google denies any wrongdoing. | ||
| Lawyers allege Google breached competition law by charging developers commissions of up to 30% and passing some costs on to customers. | ||
| Only on one channel | ||
| Consumers could receive average compensation payments of around £60 each if the case succeeds. | Not reported by BBC One | |
| Google is facing a £1.2bn UK lawsuit alleging it benefited from unfair and excessive charges on popular Android apps. | Not reported by BBC One | |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
BBC News led with the consumer compensation angle and explained who could be covered, how much they might get, and Google's response. Its report placed the UK action in context by noting earlier cases in the US and Australia, Apple's loss in a similar case, and Google's £260m settlement with UK app developers. The tone was neutral and explanatory.
- “Millions of Android users in the UK could be in line for compensation as part of a £1.2bn lawsuit which claims Google benefited from unfair and excessive charges on popular apps.”
- “Google denies any wrongdoing”
- “Apple lost a similar case on app sales and in-app purchases last year”
BBC ONE West carried the same business correspondent report in a regional lunchtime bulletin, leading with the payout for Android phone owners before moving to other local and business news. The segment repeated the main consumer compensation details and Google's denial, with less surrounding context than the national BBC News bulletin in the transcript. Its framing was practical: if you have an Android phone, you could be due money.
- “Now if you have an Android phone You could be in line for a payout as part of a 1.2 billion pound lawsuit”
- “Google denies any wrongdoing”
- “Consumers could be in line for average compensation payments of around 60 pounds each”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.