Google sued in UK for overcharging millions of users

Alphabet Inc.'s Google faces a London suit over claims it overcharged nearly 20 million U.K. customers for app store purchases, just a month after it was sued in a similar US case.

Google Play Store's 30% surcharge for digital purchases is “excessive and unfair,” the claimants said in a press release Thursday. The suit, filed at London's Competition Appeal Tribunal on Wednesday, says Google breaches European and UK competition laws at the “expense of millions of loyal customers in the UK”

App stores are facing increasing scrutiny with Apple Inc.'s the target of a European Union investigation and a US lawsuit from app developer Epic Games. The same lawyers behind the Google claim also filed a similar suit in London against Apple in May. The two tech giants also face a UK antitrust probe into the “duopoly” power of their mobile ecosystems.


Last month, Google was sued by three dozen states in the U.S. alleging that it abused its power over the sale and distribution of apps through its Google Play store. It was accused of collecting an “extravagant” commission on app purchases.