Dozens of states target Google's app store in antitrust suit

SAN RAMON, Calif. (AP) — Dozens of states are taking aim at Google in an escalating legal offensive on Big Tech, this time in a lawsuit targeting the company's Play store, where consumers download apps designed for the Android software that powers most of the world's smartphones.

The 144-page complaint, filed late Wednesday in a Northern California federal court, represents the fourth major antitrust filed against Google by government agencies across the U.S. since last October.

The lawsuit also comes against a backdrop of proposed laws in Congress tailored to either break up or undermine the power amassed by Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon. The four have built trillion-dollar empires fueled by the immense popularity of services that people have become increasingly dependent upon.

Much of the latest lawsuit echoes similar allegations that mobile game maker Epic Games made against both Google and Apple, which runs a separate app store exclusively for iPhones, in cases brought last August.

Just as Epic did, the lawsuit focuses primarily on the control that Google exerts on its app store so it can collect commissions of up to 30% on digital transactions within apps installed on smartphones running on Android. Those devices represent more than 80% of the worldwide smartphone market.

A high-profile trial p itting Epic — the maker of the widely played Fortnite video game — against Apple in a similar battle over the app store that feeds iPhone concluded in late May. A decision from the federal judge who presided over the month-long proceedings is is expected later this summer. Epic's lawsuit against Google is still awaiting trial.

Although its app commissions are similar to Apple's, Google has tried to distinguish itself by allowing consumers to download apps from other...