By David Beard, The Dominion Post
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Attorney General Patrick Morrisey has joined another multi-state lawsuit against Google. It alleges that Google unfairly restricts competition through the Google Play Store and Google billing – harming consumers and app developers by limiting choice and driving up app prices.
The suit was filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, San Francisco Division. Utah is the lead state, joined by 36 others, including neighbors Kentucky, Maryland and Virginia. Morrisey announced the suit Thursday.
“Vigorous competition protects consumers and helps the economy thrive,” Morrisey said. “Our nation’s antitrust laws play a vital role in helping to foster innovation and ensure that consumers pay a fair price. Likewise, our nation loses when one company can use unlawful means to monopolize a particular market. We must feverishly oppose such tactics.”
The suit notes that Google acquired the Android mobile operating system in 2005. It alleges that Google promised repeatedly that Android would be the basis for an “open” ecosystem in which industry participants could freely compete…