A federal jury on Monday ruled that Google’s lucrative Android app store is an illegal monopoly, a landmark antitrust decision that one observer called “an illegal monopoly on our lives.” “It sends a message that justice can prevail in the fight against the enormous power of Big Tech.”
The ruling stems from an antitrust lawsuit brought by video game maker Epic Games, which claims Google has used its dominant market position to crush competition and raise prices for app developers. was criticized.
The Google Play Store has become one of the tech giant’s most profitable businesses, despite company executives’ previous claims that the platform “will not be a profit center.”
Following Monday’s decision, Epic Games said in a statement: “During the course of the trial, Google paid developers to abandon their own store efforts and direct distribution plans in order to suppress alternative app stores. “We have seen evidence that they are willing to pay billions of dollars.” In exchange for eliminating competing app stores, it offers very favorable deals with device manufacturers. ”
“These deals were meant to solidify Google’s dominance as the city’s only app store, and they have worked. Over 95% of apps are distributed through Android’s Play Store. “There are,” the statement continued. “Evidence presented in this case highlights legislation and regulations that address Apple and Google’s stranglehold on smartphones, including promising legislation currently underway, such as the UK’s Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill and the Digital Markets Act. This shows that there is an urgent need for “in the EU.”
said Lee Hepner, an attorney with the American Economic Freedom Project.wall street journal “It’s significant for a jury to say, ‘Yes, Google has a monopoly and has illegally maintained a monopoly,'” he said.
“The jury was able to call a spade a spade right away,” Hepner said.
“This is a major victory in Google’s fight against one of its most profitable monopolies.”
Epic Games’ victory on Monday brings to an end a year-long legal battle the company has waged against Apple and Google, but Google is currently facing a historic antitrust lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Justice. facing lawsuits.
In 2020, washington postreported on Monday that “Epic has defied Apple and Google’s payment-sharing system for app developers by tweaking its popular Fortnite app to allow users to pay directly to Epic.”
“First Apple, then Google launched Fortnite from their app stores for violating their rules.” post I got it. “Epic sued both companies, alleging that this rule violates the Sherman Antitrust Act…Unlike Apple, Google allows people to install the Android operating system without going through the official app store. The company has agreements with phone manufacturers that allow users to download apps on their phones. Use Google’s official app store.
Earlier this year, a federal appeals court ruled against Epic Games in the Apple case, and Epic Games asked the Supreme Court to take up the case.
A federal judge appointed by President Obama is expected to decide in January how much Google must change its business following the jury’s decision.
Kathryn Van Dyke, senior legal counsel at the American Economic Liberties Project, told the judge: “We need to ensure that the app market is open, accessible, and competitive for honest companies across the tech industry. “We need to formulate a strong remedy.”
“This is a major victory in Google’s fight against one of its most profitable monopolies,” Van Dyke said of Monday’s ruling. “A nine-person jury rules that Google’s sweetheart deals, bribes, and monopolistic profits are illegal.”
Van Dijk continued, “Epic’s decision to waive monetary damages and instead seek injunctive relief fundamentally undermines Google’s monopoly, which it has used to exploit app developers and stifle innovation. It’s going to change things,” he added.