Attor­ney Gen­er­al Ken Pax­ton Informs Tex­ans on How to Claim Their Share of $700 Mil­lion Google Antitrust Set­tle­ment Payout

Attorney General Ken Paxton is directing consumers on how to claim funds from a $700 million settlement with Google that has been finalized after the company was found to have violated antitrust laws.

In 2023, Attorney General Paxton, along with attorneys general from all other U.S. states and several territories, secured a settlement with Google over anticompetitive practices that affected consumers who made purchases on the Google Play Store between August 2016 and September 2023. Google unlawfully monopolized the market of Android app distribution and in-app payment processing by signing anticompetitive contracts to deter consumers from directly downloading apps to their devices.

"I encourage every Texan affected by these unlawful actions to claim their share of the penalty Google had to pay for breaking the law," said Attorney General Paxton. "There will be zero tolerance for any Big Tech company that chooses to ignore the law, drive up costs for consumers, and destroy competition in the Lone Star State."

Now, affected consumers will receive an email from PayPal or a text from Venmo notifying them of their incoming payment at the email address or mobile phone number associated with their Google Play account. If that email address or phone number does not match an email address or phone number associated with a PayPal or Venmo account, then consumers have the option to create a new account or direct the payment to a PayPal or Venmo account at another email address or phone number.

There will be a supplemental claims process after the automatic payments process is complete for consumers who either: Do not have an existing PayPal or Venmo account and do not want to sign up for PayPal or Venmo; No longer have access to the email address or mobile phone number associated with their Google Play account; Or were expecting to receive a payment but did not.

If consumers would like to be notified by email when the supplemental claims process starts, they may submit their name, email address, and mobile phone number on the settlement website.

Consumers who do not want to receive payment from the settlement fund and want to bring their own case against Google must submit a request to be excluded online or in writing by February 19, 2026. Consumers who want to object to the settlement can file a written objection by February 19, 2026. The court will hold a hearing on April 30, 2026, to consider whether to approve the settlement.