A US court has ruled that Google violated antitrust laws with its Android app store in a landmark case challenging the power of big tech companies.
A California jury unanimously ruled in favor of Epic Games, the video game company that developed Fortnite, which in 2020 was locked up in a smartphone market that Google used to collect unfair fees from app makers. sued Google for abusing its dominant position.
Epic said the ruling “proves that Google’s app store practices are illegal and abuse its monopoly to charge exorbitant fees, stifle competition, and reduce innovation.” Stated.
The judge will decide what action will be taken against Google as a result of the ruling.
Epic filed similar lawsuits in 2020 against Apple and Google, whose respective app stores dominate downloads on iPhone and Android phones.
This comes after Fortnite was banned from both stores for trying to circumvent the company’s payment rules. Stores pay up to 30% of transactions like app purchases and subscriptions, which some app developers liken to an unfair tax.
Epic has been largely unsuccessful in its legal efforts against Apple, but has taken the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Epic’s lawsuit against Apple focused on fees charged by the iPhone maker, while its lawsuit against Google focused on tactics employed by the internet giant to maintain its dominance of the Google Play Store. Unlike Apple’s lawsuit, Epic’s lawsuit against Google included a jury trial.
Unlike Apple, Google allows Android users to download rival app stores. But the court heard that Google used a program called “Project Hug” to encourage big app developers to continue using the Play Store, and had secret agreements with companies like Spotify to not pay fees. .
The jury said these agreements, as well as agreements with cell phone manufacturers such as Samsung that allow the Play Store to be automatically downloaded onto phones, are unreasonable.