Google suffers major court defeat in monopoly case
“Winner, winner, chicken dinner.”
Taking a cue from its insanely popular “Fortnite” video game, Epic Games just returned from the brink of catastrophe, took on one of the final bosses of Big Tech, and won — for now.
Anyone remotely interested in mobile gaming has likely heard about Epic’s crusade against the two biggest smartphone storefronts: the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store.
In short: Epic alleged that Google and Apple were running illegal monopolies via their respective app stores, killing any prospective competition that may crop up.
Epic was also fuming that the companies took such massive cuts of its earnings through those app stores — a sizable loss of revenue given the popularity of “Fortnite.”
Interestingly enough, Epic lost its first battle against Apple, as documented by The Verge, roughly two years ago. (Apple lost that case too, but not nearly as badly as Epic.)
Fast forward to 2023, and many a legal pundit expected a similar outcome in Epic’s challenge against Google.
But as in any great battle royale, the best victories are the ones you snatch from the jaws of defeat — and that’s exactly what appears to have happened here.
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According to a Monday report from The Verge, a jury has found that “Google turned its Google Play app store and Google Play Billing service into an illegal monopoly.”
One analyst, Paul Gallant, told Yahoo Finance that the decision was ”unexpected,” but he thinks the fact that this was a jury trial and not a judge’s decision paid off for Epic (the Apple case was a judge’s decision).
However, as both Gallant and The Verge noted, Google plans on appealing the decision, so don’t expect any imminent changes.
Despite that murky future, Epic is taking a victory lap.
“Today’s verdict is a win for all app developers and consumers around the world,” Epic said in a Monday blog post. “It proves that Google’s app store practices are illegal and they abuse their monopoly to extract exorbitant fees, stifle competition and reduce innovation.
“Over the course of the trial we saw evidence that Google was willing to pay billions of dollars to stifle alternative app stores by paying developers to abandon their own store efforts and direct distribution plans, and offering highly lucrative agreements with device manufacturers in exchange for excluding competing app stores.”
Epic added a jab at Google, accusing the tech titan of being less than forthcoming in the legal proceedings.
“This is, of course, what we know,” Epic said. “From the CEO down, Google employees willfully re-directed sensitive conversations to chat, knowing that their contents would be deleted forever.
“The evidence presented in this case demonstrates the urgent need for legislation and regulations that address Apple and Google strangleholds over smartphones.”
Yes, at the end of the day, this case is about a multibillion-dollar company (Epic) taking on a trillion-dollar company (Google) over matters of profit — something most Americans cannot relate to on any level.
But it also represents the growing tide against “the way things are.”
In the past, perhaps Google and Epic would have come to a hefty settlement and the world collectively moved on. Google is, quite literally, a monolith so embedded in the culture that it operates as a noun, proper noun and verb.
But now? With the tech overlords at Google (overlords who may need to retain better lawyers) eating an actual loss in court, perhaps it’s time for everyday Americans to take a page out of the playbook of Epic Games:
Fight, fight, and when you lose, fight some more. You just might get that W yet.
The post Google Fail: Big Tech Titan Handed Brutal Court Loss Over Monopoly Allegations appeared first on
How might the recent verdict against Google impact the practices and competitiveness of app stores in the mobile gaming industry
The past several years, Epic Games, the company behind the popular “Fortnite” video game, has been locked in a legal battle with two of the biggest smartphone storefronts, the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store. Epic accused both companies of operating illegal monopolies and taking excessive cuts of its earnings through their app stores.
In 2021, Epic lost its case against Apple, but it seems that they have emerged victorious in their battle against Google. A recent jury verdict found that Google had turned its Google Play app store and Google Play Billing service into an illegal monopoly. This decision was unexpected but incredibly significant for Epic Games.
Analysts and legal experts have noted that the fact that this was a jury trial, unlike the Apple case which was decided by a judge, may have influenced the outcome. Nevertheless, Google has announced its intention to appeal the decision, so the future outcome remains uncertain.
Despite the potential for further legal battles, Epic Games has celebrated this verdict as a win for both app developers and consumers worldwide. In a blog post, Epic stated that the verdict proves that Google’s app store practices are illegal and that the company abuses its monopoly power to extract steep fees, stifle competition, and hinder innovation.
While the long-term implications of this decision are yet to be seen, it marks a significant milestone in the ongoing debate over the power and practices of tech giants in the mobile gaming industry. The outcome of these legal battles could potentially reshape the landscape of app stores and create a more competitive environment for developers.
In conclusion, Epic Games’ recent victory against Google in the legal battle over app store practices is a major achievement for the company and a significant development in the ongoing fight against alleged monopolistic practices in the tech industry. As the appeals process unfolds, the impact of this decision will become clearer, and the future of the mobile gaming industry could be forever changed.
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