More than three years after the start of its rebellion against Apple and Google, Epic Games won a major victory against Google on Monday thanks to a Californian jury convinced that the technology giant is abusing its monopoly on the mobile applications market, to the detriment of developers.
“Victory against Google! », Launched on X (ex-Twitter) Tim Sweeney. The boss of the publisher of the game phenomenon Fortnite embarked in the summer of 2020 on a war against Google and Apple, who dominate the global mobile economy.
“The court’s work on retaliatory measures will begin in January. Thank you all for your support ! Free Fortnite! “, he added.
After four weeks of testimony, the jury in fact found in favor of Epic Games on all counts: Google does, according to them, hold a monopoly on the market for the distribution of applications on Android (the mobile operating system of Google) and that of payment services in applications.
They believe that Google acted in an anti-competitive manner in these markets, that Epic suffered damage as a result of this behavior and that the link between the Google Play Store application store and its payment service (Google Play Billing) is illegal.
“Today’s verdict is a victory for all app developers and consumers around the world,” Epic Games said in a statement released immediately.
Google “abuses its monopoly to extract exorbitant fees, stifle competition and reduce innovation,” the company further asserted.
Call from Google
“We intend to contest the verdict,” responded Wilson White, a vice president of Google, in a statement sent to the press.
“Android and Google Play offer more choice and openness than any other major mobile platform. The trial made it clear that we are in fierce competition with Apple and its App Store, as well as the app stores on Android devices and game consoles,” he continued.
Google’s defeat comes in an already difficult legal context for the American group: the United States accuses it of maintaining a monopoly on the search engine market. A historic trial took place this fall, the verdict is not yet known.
For its part, the Fortnite studio is enjoying its victory all the more since it lost an important round in 2021, during its trial against Apple for the same reasons.
An American federal judge had ordered the iPhone manufacturer to authorize an alternative payment system within the App Store, but also ruled that Epic had failed to prove a violation of competition law from Apple.
Epic accuses Apple and Google, via Android and iOS, of requiring application developers to use their download platforms (the Play Store and the App Store) as well as their payment systems, and of making them pay too high commissions (30%).
“Everyone wins”
Unlike the Apple brand, Google allows alternative stores. But according to the publisher of Fortnite, this is an illusion, and Android is hardly more open than iOS.
“Only 3% of Android phones in the United States have successfully downloaded another app store from the web,” Gary Bornstein, Epic’s lawyer, noted Monday during his closing argument.
Above all, he criticized Google for abusing its power to conclude contracts with different companies, in order to lock in its hold on the application distribution market.
An argument similar to that of the prosecutors of the Department of Justice, who accuse the Californian group of having built its empire not thanks to its popularity but via illegal exclusivity contracts, so that its search engine is installed by default on devices and services from Apple and Samsung, in particular.
“Epic is fighting against a monopoly. When Epic wins, everyone wins,” assured Gary Bornstein.
“That’s false,” retorted Jonathan Kravis, Google’s lawyer.
He argued that the publisher did not charge less to users who go through its own store (rather than through Android or a games console), despite the absence of commission. “Epic’s actions speak louder than its words.”
Epic Games wants to be able to use the Play Store “for free”, he counter-attacked again. “Dear jurors, we would all like extraordinary things for free. But competition law does not require Google to offer its services for free.”
