Match and Google settled the lawsuit filed by the Tinder parent against Google in the US over alleged anticompetitive practices involving Play Store's billing policy, Match said in its shareholders letter dated October 31. As per the settlement, Match (Tinder, Hinge, OKCupid, Match.com) will adopt Google's User Choice Billing, which allows developers to include their own choice of payment system for in-app purchases alongside Google's billing system and pay Google a slightly reduced commission (4% less) if users pay through the alternative billing system. The $40 million placed in escrow will also be returned to Match as per the agreement. "We are pleased to reach a settlement agreement with Match Group. This ensures we can continue to provide our shared users the secure, seamless and high-quality experience people expect from apps on Google Play while maintaining Google’s ability to invest in the Android ecosystem and deliver value across an app’s full lifecycle," a Google spokesperson told The Verge. Match had sued Google in May 2022 and its complaint was clubbed with Epic's lawsuit, which was filed in August 2020. In January 2022, 35 US states had also filed an amicus brief in support of Epic's lawsuit, but these states settled with Google in September 2023. This now means Epic Games will fight Google alone in the antitrust trial set to begin on November 6. "We reject Google's so-called 'user choice billing', in which Google controls, surveils, and taxes transactions between users and developers," Epic Games CEO tweeted. https://twitter.com/TimSweeneyEpic/status/1719467502483144938?s=20 User Choice…
