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US Judge Tosses Google Play Overcharge Case vs Canadians
19 Mar
Summary
- US judge dismissed a lawsuit over Google Play charges for Canadians.
- The judge ruled US antitrust law doesn't apply to Canadian transactions.
- The lawsuit was dismissed because the conduct occurred in Canada.
A U.S. judge has dismissed a lawsuit accusing Alphabet's Google of overcharging Canadian consumers through its Google Play store. U.S. District Judge James Donato in San Francisco ruled that U.S. antitrust law does not apply to the claims because the transactions took place in Canada.
Donato stated that the federal Foreign Trade Antitrust Improvements Act bars the claims. He explained that the case concerns Canadian consumers purchasing products within Canada, and the plaintiff did not demonstrate that U.S. antitrust laws apply to conduct within Canada.
The lawsuit, filed by Canadian resident Connor Hurley, mirrored claims previously made by Epic Games. Hurley had argued that Google's app store policies led to inflated prices. However, Donato found that Google's terms of service could not extend the territorial reach of U.S. antitrust laws.
Related state claims against Google under California laws were also dismissed. The case number is Connor Hurley v Google, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No. 3:25-cv-00883-TSH.
