Epic Games Wins Antitrust Case Against Google
Epic Games emerged victorious in a high-stakes antitrust trial against Google on Monday, claiming that the Play app store functions as an illegal monopoly.
The lawsuit accused Google of stifling competition and imposing excessively high fees of up to 30% on developers. During the trial, allegations surfaced that Google systematically obstructed alternative app stores and even deleted messages to conceal anticompetitive behavior. Google refuted these claims and aims to appeal the ruling.
“We will continue to defend the Android business model and remain deeply committed to our users, partners, and the broader Android ecosystem,” said Wilson White, vice-president of government affairs and public policy at Google.
The jury sided with Epic on all counts, a decision that could significantly disrupt the entire app store landscape.
‘Strangleholds on Smartphones’
“Today’s verdict is a win for all app developers and consumers around the world,” an Epic Games statement reads. “It proves that Google’s app store practices are illegal and they abuse their monopoly to extract exorbitant fees, stifle competition and reduce innovation.
“Over the course of the trial we saw evidence that Google was willing to pay billions of dollars to stifle alternative app stores by paying developers to abandon their own store efforts and direct distribution plans, and offering highly lucrative agreements with device manufacturers in exchange for excluding competing app stores.
“These deals were meant to cement Google’s dominance as the only app store in town – and it worked. More than 95% of apps are distributed through the Play Store on Android.”
Should this court ruling stand, developers might gain more control over app distribution and profits.
Tim Sweeney, CEO and founder of Epic Games, wrote, “Victory over Google! After four weeks of detailed court testimony, the California jury found against the Google Play monopoly on all counts. The Court’s work on remedies will start in January. Thanks for everyone’s support and faith! Free Fortnite!”
Epic Games further called for legislation to break what it calls “strangleholds over smartphones” from Google and Apple.
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