It was a historic day for Epic Games, the creator of the popular video game Fortnite, which won an antitrust lawsuit against Google. A U.S. federal court jury unanimously ruled that Google’s Android app store was protected by anticompetitive barriers that harmed smartphone consumers and software developers. The decision is a major blow to one of the main pillars of Google’s tech empire.
Epic Games’ lawsuit against Google
The lawsuit was filed by Epic Games three years ago. The publisher claimed that the giant Google abused its power to safeguard its Play Store from competition in order to protect a gold mine that generates billions of dollars annually. The main issue concerns the payment system within the Google Play Store, where the company collects a fee ranging from 15 percent to 30 percent on digital transactions completed within apps.
Epic Games’ lawsuit is similar to the one filed against Apple’s app store. While Apple won the case in 2021, the verdict is currently being appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. The case against Google’s Play Store had a different conclusion, with the jury ruling in favor of Epic Games.
The implications for Google
The jury’s decision could have serious consequences for Google, as it could face the loss of billions of dollars in annual profit generated from its Play Store commissions. However, it should be noted that Google’s main source of revenue, namely digital advertising related mainly to its search engine, Gmail and other services, will not be directly affected by the outcome of the trial.
Google has announced that it intends to appeal the verdict and stressed that Android and the Play Store offer more choice and openness than other mobile platforms. However, it is now up to the judge to decide what measures Google should take to eliminate illegal behavior in the Play Store.
The arguments of the litigants
During the trial, the litigants’ arguments highlighted the different perspectives on the case. Epic Games‘ lawyer, Gary Bornstein, painted Google as a ruthless bully using a “bribe and block” strategy to deter competition against its Play Store for Android apps.
On the other side, Google’s lawyer, Jonathan Kravis, attacked Epic Games, calling it a game maker interested only in its own profit and using the courts to save money by undermining an ecosystem that has generated billions of Android smartphones to compete with Apple and its iPhone.
The jury’s decision
After hearing two hours of closing arguments from the two sides’ lawyers, the nine-person jury reached a unanimous decision in favor of Epic Games. The jury viewed the Google Play Store through a different lens, despite the fact that Google technically allows Android apps to be downloaded from different stores, unlike Apple, which prohibits this possibility for the iPhone.
What will happen next?
It is now up to the judge, James Donato, to determine what steps Google will have to take to end illegal behavior in the Play Store. The judge has indicated that he will hold hearings on the issue during the second week of January. Meanwhile, Epic Games celebrated the victory, calling it a win for all app developers and consumers around the world.
Google, on the other hand, announced that it intends to appeal the verdict, arguing that Android and the Play Store offer more choice and openness than other mobile platforms.