Update: Google Agrees to Pay $353.3 Million to Settle UK Class Action Over Play Store

05:08 AM EDT, 08/28/2026 (MT Newswires) -- (Updates with Google's response in the last paragraph.) Alphabet's (GOOG, GOOGL) Google agreed to pay 260 million British pounds ($353.3 million) to settle a class action lawsuit led by a business competition professor, the plaintiff's law firm said Thursday. Professor Barry Rodger was the lead plaintiff in the case, acting on behalf of UK app developers, the plaintiff's attorney said in a statement. He claimed that Google abused its dominant market position to hurt UK businesses that sold apps on the Play Store to consumers using the Android operating system since 2018, the law firm Geradin Partners said in a statement. Rodger said many UK businesses had no way of accessing customers except for the Play Store and by paying Google's commission. Of the settlement amount, 160 million pounds will be distributed to relevant companies and the rest for Rodger's expenses and legal and administrative fees, a Tuesday filing said. The proposed settlement must be approved by the UK's Competition Appeal Tribunal at a hearing next month, the statement said. "We are pleased to reach an agreement with the developers to end this litigation, subject to court approval. We remain committed to supporting the UK developer community in building the next generation of digital experiences," a Google spokesperson said in an emailed statement to MT Newswires.