Attorney General Bonta Secures Compensation for Californians Harmed By Google, Announces Process for Consumers to Receive Payment from $700 Million Settlement

OAKLAND - California Attorney General Rob Bonta today announced the beginning of the notice process for consumers to receive payment in the $700 million Google Play Store antitrust settlement. The 2023 settlement, secured by Attorney General Bonta and a coalition of 53 attorneys general, resolves allegations that Google violated antitrust laws by monopolizing the Android smartphone application market. In addition to significant monetary returns to California consumers, the settlement includes a variety of key injunctive terms to open up the markets to competition and prevent Google from further engaging in anticompetitive conduct.

"Google took advantage of Android phone customers by limiting consumer choice, inflating prices on in-app purchases, and creating an unfair marketplace. California stood up to Google, took it to court, and secured a great settlement," said Attorney General Bonta. "Now, I am proud to announce the start of the process that ensures Google's ill-gotten profits are distributed to consumers that were harmed by this conduct. My office is committed to protecting consumers, holding industry accountable, and ensuring the wallets of hardworking Californians are protected from illegal actions by big corporations."

As part of the $700 million settlement secured by Attorney General Bonta, Google will pay $630 million, minus costs and fees, to consumers who made purchases on the Google Play Store between August 2016 and September 2023 and were harmed by Google's anticompetitive practices. Most consumers covered by this settlement will not have to do anything to receive a payment from the Settlement Fund.

Affected consumers will be contacted by email to notify them of the settlement - the notice administrator will also advertise the settlement across a variety of platforms. Once the notice process has completed, the court will hold a final approval hearing on April 30, 2026 to consider whether to approve the settlement. Once the court grants final approval to the settlement, a settlement administrator will distribute settlement funds to affected consumers.

The settlement fund will make the majority of payments automatically through PayPal or Venmo, and no claim form is necessary in most cases. Once the settlement has been approved by the Court, 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. Additional details are in the Settlement Agreement and Release available on the website www.GooglePlayStateAGAntitrustLitigation.com

Important Information and Dates:

• Affected 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 via online form at www.GooglePlayStateAGAntitrustLitigation.com or in writing on or before February 19, 2026.
• Affected consumers who want to object to the settlement can file a written objection on or before February 19, 2026.
• The Court will hold a hearing on April 30, 2026, to consider whether to approve the settlement.

As part of the settlement, Google must also pay the states an additional $70 million for their sovereign claims, including state-specific penalties, fees, and costs.

In 2021, the multistate coalition of attorneys general sued Google alleging that the company unlawfully monopolized the markets for Android app distribution and in-app payment processing. Specifically, the states claimed that Google signed anticompetitive contracts to prevent other app stores from being preloaded on Android devices, bought off key app developers who might have launched rival app stores to the Google Play store, and created technological barriers to deter consumers from directly downloading apps to their devices.

For further settlement information please see here.