In this June 8, 2021 article for The Epoch Times, Isabel Van Burgen reports on the series of lawsuits filed against Google last June 7, 2021.

According to Burgen, attorney generals from 36 states and Washington are suing tech giant Google for violating antitrust laws. In the 144-page complaint filed in a Northern California federal court, the complainants allege that “Google has deployed various tactics and set up anti-competitive barriers to ensure it distributes more than 90 percent of the apps on Android devices — a market share that the attorneys general argue represents an illegal monopoly”. Through the huge commission that Google charges app developers who distribute their apps through the Play Store, Google has abused its power in order to “reap billions of dollars in profit at the expense of consumers, who end up paying higher prices to subsidize the commissions, and the makers of apps, who have less money and incentive to innovate”.

Editor’s Note: Because of the sheer size of its business, Google can very easily prevent competition even without making an effort. But with all the barriers it has set up in the Play Store, it is clear that Google is also acting as a gatekeeper for apps.

We must remember how Google (in collusion with other Big Tech companies) has de-platformed, and almost caused the bankruptcy of Parler simply because the social network did not follow Google’s directive of censorship. Can you imagine how many developers were forced to moderate content and follow the Google-approved narrative in order for their app to stay in the Play Store?

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