Google plans to appeal the lawsuit alleging anti-competitive practices and unjust fees
Epic Games, the creator of Fortnite, has emerged victorious in an antitrust trial against Alphabet’s Google Play app marketplace. Epic’s CEO, Tim Sweeney, announced the triumph on X (formerly Twitter), stating, Victory over Google! After 4 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.
Jurors ruled in favor of Epic on all counts, as indicated in a court filing. The court is set to commence deliberations in January to determine appropriate remedies.
Google, however, has expressed intentions to appeal. Wilson White, the Vice President of Government Affairs and Public Policy at Google, stated in an emailed response, “We will continue to defend the Android business model and remain deeply committed to our users, partners, and the broader Android ecosystem.
Attorneys for both firms presented their concluding arguments on Monday morning, concluding over a month of trial in Epic’s lawsuit against Google. The lawsuit accused Google of suppressing competition and imposing excessively high fees, reaching up to 30%, on app developers.
Epic’s claims included assertions that Google illicitly linked its Play store and billing service, mandating developers to utilize both for their apps to be featured in the store.
The verdict represents a significant setback for Google, the operator of one of the world’s largest app stores. If the decision stands, it has the potential to disrupt the entire app store ecosystem, possibly providing developers with greater influence over app distribution and revenue generation.
Epic Games conveyed in a statement on its website, “[Today’s verdict] proves that Google’s app store practices are illegal and they abuse their monopoly to extract exorbitant fees, stifle competition, and reduce innovation.
Less than four hours after the federal judge handed the case to the jury, emphasizing the necessity of a unanimous decision, the trial concluded.
Earlier in the day, Gary Bornstein, a lawyer for Epic, had informed jurors that the trial had brought to light Google’s actions hindering competition. He asserted that Google systematically obstructs alternative app stores on the Play store.
Google, however, denies any wrongdoing, contending that it engages in intense competition based on price, quality, and security, particularly against Apple’s App Store.
Jonathan Kravis, a lawyer representing Google, told jurors, “Google does not want to lose 60 million Android users to Apple every year,” emphasizing that Google adjusted its fee structure to stay competitive with Apple.
He remarked, “This is not the conduct expected of a monopolist.”
Before the trial commenced, Google reached a settlement with the dating app company Match concerning related claims. Additionally, the tech giant resolved related antitrust allegations made by U.S. states and consumers under undisclosed terms.
In 2020, Epic filed a comparable antitrust lawsuit against Apple, but in September 2021, a U.S. judge predominantly sided with Apple. Epic has appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court to revive crucial claims in the case against Apple, while Apple is contesting a portion of the ruling favoring Epic that mandates alterations to App Store regulations.
