“Fortnite” maker Epic Games filed a second antitrust lawsuit against Google on Monday, accusing the search giant of illegally colluding with smartphone giant Samsung to suppress app developers.
Epic, led by CEO Tim Sweeney, was banned in December after a jury found that Google operated an illegal monopoly over the Google Play app store and in-app billing system used on Android devices. A stunning victory for the law.
A federal judge is expected to order sweeping changes to Google's business practices in the near future.
In a new antitrust lawsuit filed in California federal court, Epic focused on Samsung's feature called “Autoblocker.” The feature is turned on by default on the company's smartphones and blocks users from downloading apps from the Google Play Store and less popular Samsung Galaxy apps. shop.
According to Epic, users must follow a “very tedious 21-step process to download apps outside of the Google Play Store or Samsung Galaxy Store.” mentioned in a blog post Announcement of lawsuit.
“Auto Blocker is virtually guaranteed to solidify Google's dominance over Android app distribution, preventing third-party app stores like the Epic Games Store from reaching any large number of users on Android. ” the complaint states.
Automatic blocker is now enabled by default on Samsung devices starting July 2024.
Epic argued that if the feature was allowed to continue, it would undermine jury verdicts in previous cases.
The North Carolina-based company will stop “anticompetitive and unfair conduct” against Samsung and Google, and require Samsung to take all steps necessary to stop such conduct and restore competition. The lawsuit also seeks unspecified monetary damages.
Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A Samsung spokesperson said the company “actively promotes market competition, enhances consumer choice, and conducts fair business operations,” adding, “We strongly dispute Epic Games' baseless claims.” He said he intended to “recite this.”
“The features integrated into our devices are designed in accordance with Samsung's core principles of security, privacy, and user control, and we remain committed to protecting our users' personal data,” the spokesperson said. said the person. “Users can disable automatic blockers at any time.”
Samsung does not allow third parties to qualify as “authorized sources” exempt from autoblockers, the complaint alleges.
“Allowing this systematic illegal anti-competitive transaction to proceed harms developers and consumers, and undermines both jury verdicts and regulatory and legislative progress around the world.” mentioned in a blog post Announcement of lawsuit.
Epic's latest legal challenge is yet another headache for Google, which is in the midst of an unprecedented crackdown on its operations in the United States and abroad.
In August, a federal judge sided with the Justice Department and ruled that Google had an illegal monopoly in the online search market.
The judge is expected to announce remedies addressing anti-competitive practices by next summer.
A second Justice Department antitrust case targeting Google's alleged monopoly over digital advertising technology is also underway.
Closing arguments in the case are scheduled for November.
In both Justice Department cases, the federal government is expected to seek a forced breakup of the Google empire.
