Dozens of States Sue Google Over App Store Fees

Software developers have accused the company of harsh policies and taking a large cut of financial transactions in their apps.

WASHINGTON — A group of 36 states and the District of Columbia sued Google on Wednesday over claims that its mobile app store abuses its market power and forces aggressive terms on software developers, expanding the legal challenges facing the internet search giant. The suit is the fourth state or federal antitrust lawsuit filed against Google since October, but the first to scrutinize the company’s lucrative app store. Utah, North Carolina, New York and Tennessee led the suit, which was filed in federal court in the Northern District of California. Developers of mobile apps have taken issue with the way Google makes them use its own system for some payments inside their products. That system charges a 30 percent commission on top of many transactions, which the developers say forces them to charge higher prices for their services.