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A sign outside Google’s new Bay View headquarters in Mountain View, California, US, Monday, May 16, 2022.
CNN
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In a momentous decision that could lead to Google chipping away at its tight control over its Android app store, a federal jury said Monday evening that Google’s app marketplace is an illegal monopoly.
The ruling in a years-long battle between Epic Games — maker of the hit video game “Fortnite” — and the tech giant represents a major victory for critics of Google’s App Store terms and practices. The jury found that Google’s App Store practices violated US antitrust law and that the search giant illegally created a monopoly on the way it distributes Android apps and charges fees for them.
Epic and Google have sparred for weeks in a closely watched federal trial over everything from the fees Google charges for in-app purchases to the terms of Google’s contract that restricts rival app stores from Android devices.
The jury’s decision could represent a chink in the armor for app store operators, which for years have successfully defended their platforms from monopoly allegations by consumers, app makers and other critics of Big Tech.
“Victory over Google!” “After 4 weeks of detailed court testimony, a California jury found against Google Play on all counts,” Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney said in a post on X.
Google said in a statement that it will appeal the landmark ruling, which could lead to sweeping changes to the company’s App Store business.
“Android and Google Play offer more choice and openness than any other mobile platform,” said Wilson White, vice president of government affairs and public policy at Google. “Experience has made clear that we compete intensely with Apple and its App Store, as well as the app stores on Android devices and gaming consoles. We will continue to champion the Android business model and remain deeply committed to our users, partners, and the broader Android ecosystem.”
With Monday’s ruling, a separate process in the case is expected to begin in the new year regarding potential remedies targeting Google’s App Store, and could seek to change how Google collects its fees from developers or makes it easier for third parties to host Android devices. App stores.
For now, the outcome of the high-profile court battle contrasts with a similar case filed by Epic against Apple over its App Store. After being largely defeated on most of its central claims in lower courts, Epic appealed its case against Apple to the US Supreme Court.
Epic’s challenge to App Store operators came after years of criticism by app developers that Apple and Google impose unjustifiably restrictive terms and exorbitant fees for the ability to appear in their app stores. Epic admitted in both cases that it launched a deliberate campaign, known as Project Liberty, to violate the companies’ developer terms specifically to force a legal confrontation by recommending in 2020 that Fortnite players purchase in-game currency from Epic’s website rather than its iOS or Android apps.
This encouragement led Apple and Google to remove Fortnite from their app stores, citing violations of App Store policies, leading to legal battles.
Both Apple and Google have emphasized that their App Store practices help ensure that software available through their platforms is safe and secure. In addition, Google claimed that the Android operating system, which it develops and licenses, allows users to download apps from any external source if they so choose, while Apple restricts app installations to only those apps available from its App Store.
Google also accused Epic of trying to take advantage of the visibility and reach provided by the Google Play Store without contributing to the maintenance of the platform.
US lawmakers proposed legislation to address some of the criticism raised by app developers, but failed to move forward amid a torrent of criticism from Apple and Google.
On Monday, consumer advocates argued that the jury’s ruling was a major victory “against one of Google’s most profitable monopolies.”
“This is a message that justice can prevail in the fight against the enormous power that Big Tech has over our lives,” said Katherine Van Dyke, senior counsel at the American Economic Liberties Project, a consumer group that advocates for strict antitrust enforcement.
Anil Dash, an entrepreneur and longtime technology commentator, said Monday’s ruling could be part of a much broader shift in the internet economy.
“App stores are cracking, the walls between social media platforms are crumbling as legacy networks fail, the headlong rush toward artificial intelligence is making all search engines worse, and the open web is more powerful than ever,” Dash wrote in an article. Share on topics. “We are about to see the biggest redistribution of power on the Internet in 20 years. Most users have never seen this kind of change before.
In a groundbreaking decision, a federal jury has found that Google’s App Store violated antitrust laws, marking a significant development in the ongoing scrutiny of tech giants’ market dominance. The verdict comes after a lengthy trial and a close examination of Google’s control over the distribution of apps on its platform. This decision is expected to have far-reaching implications for the future of the tech industry and the regulation of digital marketplaces.