Epic Games is now fighting a war on two fronts as Google has announced it is going to appeal a court decision from December that went against it.
The games developer took on the tech giant accusing it of stifling competition for its app store and a jury agreed.
But Google is fighting back, which leaves Epic Games facing round two with Google after just recently launching a legal attack on Samsung for allegedly blocking alternative marketplaces on its devices.
Accusations of Collusion Between Samsung and Google
Epic Games had argued in its newest spat that Samsung and Google had actually be colluding to made it tricky for anyone providing competition for their respective app stores.
In a statement announcing the decision to appeal, Google’s Vice President of Regulatory Affairs, Lee-Anne Mulholland, pounced on this accusation.
She says that the Android platform is open and offers developers “many options in how to distribute their apps”. She adds: “In fact, most Android devices come preloaded with two or more app stores right out of the box.”
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She also points out that Epic Games’ Fortnite app is available to Android users through the Samsung Galaxy Store and the Epic Games Store but was not distributed through Google Play.
How Did Apple (Sort of) Win and Google Didn’t?
Mulholland’s strongest argument, though, is that a court threw out similar accusations from Epic Games against Apple.
The Supreme Court ruled that Apple’s business model didn’t violate antitrust laws. But Apple did get a telling off that the set up made it difficult for third party developers to reference and signpost to alternate, potentially cheaper, payment systems.
She argues that the Android platform is open in a way that the iOS simply isn’t.
Competing Platforms
“The Epic verdict missed the obvious: Apple and Android clearly compete”, she states and, as developers have finite resources, this verdict will put Android at a disadvantage. The changes that Epic Games has requested, “make it harder for developers to promote their apps, and reduce competition on devices,” she writes.
She explains that this will drive developers to Apple: “Like any business, Google wants developers to offer their best features for Android and to release them on Android first. So we build tools, run training programs and invest in making it as easy as possible to develop for Android. Apple of course does the same – competing to convince developers to prioritize iOS”.
Google also argues that this verdict ignores that Apple and Google are competing for customers. Mulholland writes: “Walk into a store that sells smartphones and you’ll see the options side-by-side — Android phones from companies like Samsung, Motorola and many others competing right next to Apple’s iPhone. People choose between these phones based on price, quality and security.” These changes requested “would put consumers’ privacy and security at risk”, she states, pushing customers to Apple.
The Google legal team is now asking the court to pause implementing the “remedies” requested by Epic Games. Meanwhile, Samsung is denying any wrongdoing and has made it clear that it intends to fight back.
