A US judge on Thursday said plaintiffs who have sued Google over its Android smartphone operating system will need to submit more factual details and evidence in order for the antitrust lawsuit to proceed as the suit is too vague to proceed.
The lawsuit filed earlier this year in the US District Court in the Northern District of California accuses Google of forcing Android device makers to limit rival apps by making its own apps the default phone apps. This results in smartphones being more expensive as Google’s rivals are not allowed to compete for premium placement on phone screens.
Google claims that the proposed class action should be dismissed because consumers still are free to use other apps as well. The plaintiffs, Gary Feitelson and Daniel McKee, on the other hand argue that most smartphone users either do not know how to switch default settings, or won’t at all bother to do that.
At a court hearing in downtown San Jose, the US District Judge Beth Labson Freeman questioned whether that theory is too vague for the lawsuit to proceed.
“The speculative nature of the damages is really quite concerning to me,” Freeman said.
The judge gave plaintiffs some more time to revise their arguments and gather up evidence to support their case otherwise she said she will be forced to dismiss the case on accounts of insufficiency of evidence presented.
