Attorney General Alan Wilson gives consumers instructions on accessing $700 million Google settlement

South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson is directing consumers’ attention to new information and instructions to receive funds from a $700 million settlement with Google secured by him and a coalition of 52 other attorneys general. Preliminary approval was granted on November 20, 2025, triggering the court’s notice and approval process. If the settlement is approved by the court, at a hearing on April 30, 2026, the majority of the settlement funds will be distributed to consumers who made purchases on the Google Play Store between August 2016 and September 2023 and were harmed by Google’s anticompetitive conduct. Google will also make changes to stop its anticompetitive practices that harmed consumers and app developers.

“As I indicated almost two years ago, this settlement shows our commitment to protecting our state and promoting competition. I urge all South Carolinians who were harmed to keep track of the upcoming dates,” Attorney General Wilson said.

Beginning December 2, 2025, consumers who made purchases on the Google Play Store between August 2016 and September 2023 and were harmed by Google’s anticompetitive practices began receiving notices about the distribution process for the settlement funds. Most affected consumers do not need to take further action to receive a payment from the settlement fund. The settlement fund will make the majority of payments automatically, and no claim form is necessary in most cases.

Once the settlement has been approved by the court, consumers will receive an email from PayPal or a text from Venmo notifying them of their incoming payment at the email address or mobile phone number associated with their Google Play account. If that email address or phone number is also associated with a PayPal or Venmo account, then the payment will be made directly to that account. If that email address or phone number does not match an email address or phone number associated with a PayPal or Venmo account, then consumers have the option to create a new account or direct the payment to a PayPal or Venmo account at another email address or phone number.

There will be a supplemental claims process after the automatic payments process is complete for consumers who either:

• Do not have an existing PayPal or Venmo account and do not want to sign up for PayPal or Venmo;
• No longer have access to the email address or mobile phone number associated with their Google Play account; or
• Were expecting to receive a payment but did not.

If consumers would like to be notified by email when the supplemental claims process starts, they may submit their name, email address, and mobile phone number on the settlement website.

Attorney General Wilson encourages all affected consumers to keep track of important upcoming dates in the settlement approval process:

• Consumers who do not want to receive payment from the settlement fund and want to bring their own case against Google must submit a request to be excluded onlineor in writing by February 19, 2026.
• Consumers who want to object to the settlement can file a written objection by February 19, 2026.
• The court will hold a hearing on April 30, 2026, to consider whether to approve the settlement.

Joining Attorney General Wilson in securing this settlement are the attorneys general of Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.