Google to pay millions in Play Store settlement in Israel
Google to pay millions in Play Store settlement in Israel
Court-approved agreement grants refunds to users misled by auto-renewing app subscriptions.
Google has begun transferring monetary compensation to consumers in Israel as part of a settlement agreement in a class action lawsuit filed against the company over its auto-renewal policy and the difficulty of canceling subscriptions to apps purchased through the Play Store.
In recent days, users in Israel have started receiving emails from Google informing them that they are entitled to compensation. The payments are part of a settlement agreement in a class action lawsuit filed against Google in 2017.
The plaintiff, Mordechai Malachi, claimed in the lawsuit that he purchased an annual subscription to an app called Rimon in 2016 for NIS 149. According to him, at the time of purchase, it was not clearly stated that the subscription would renew automatically, and the information was hidden behind a "More Information" button. As a result, at the end of the year, Malachi was charged NIS 149 again. Although he requested to cancel the subscription that same day, Google refused to refund the charge.
Last September, the Central District Court in Lod approved a settlement agreement with Google. Under the agreement, consumers are entitled to a refund of 55% of the subscription fees they paid through Google Play (a one-time refund for annual subscriptions and up to five refunds for weekly subscriptions) or a one-time compensation of 25% if they canceled the subscription before its expiration. Google has committed to paying a total of NIS 46.5 million ($13.1M), with any remaining funds after compensating all affected customers to be transferred to a designated fund.
Additionally, Google has agreed to modify how the Play Store operates in Israel. First, the company will clarify at the time of purchase that the subscription will renew automatically. Second, users will be able to request an immediate cancellation and receive a proportional refund for the unused portion of the subscription period. (Previously, canceling a subscription only prevented renewal at the end of the term.)
As part of the settlement, the plaintiff will receive NIS 1.9 million (plus VAT) in compensation, and the attorneys who filed the class action will receive NIS 8.06 million (plus VAT) in legal fees.
Now, in accordance with the settlement, Google has begun the process of distributing compensation to affected consumers. However, estimates suggest that the individual compensation amounts will not be significant, ranging from a few dozen to a few hundred shekels per person.
