Google Loses Landmark Antitrust Trial Against Epic Games

In a major blow to Google, a federal jury unanimously ruled in favor of Epic Games in an antitrust case between the two companies over Google's app store practices. The ruling, which deemed the tech giant's app marketplace an illegal monopoly, can potentially change how such app stores operate in the future.

The landmark verdict puts an end to a three-year-long court battle between Google and Epic Games, which began when the latter sued Google in 2020. Google's app store practices were in violation of federal and California state antitrust laws, claimed Epic.

Epic's Long-Drawn Court Battle

It all started with Epic challenging Google and Apple over gatekeeping payment options for in-game purchases. Centered primarily on Epic's free-to-play multiplayer game Fortnite, the lawsuit was a part of the company's large-scale campaign against the restrictive terms and exorbitant fees imposed by the app stores.

Google and Apple were accused of forcing app users to use their own in-app payment systems, which allowed them to take a significant share of the revenues.

Both tech giants justified their practices by pointing out security concerns and how users benefit from the security oversight provided by the respective platforms.

Epic Games decided to take Google to the Federal Court over the matter in November, filing an antitrust lawsuit at a US District Court in the Northern District of California. This brought the closely watched high-profile court battle to its final stage, ultimately resulting in Monday's ruling in favor of Epic.

Epic had already begun steering Fortnite players away from the Google Play Store in 2018, directing them to download the game from its official website. Though Fortnite was later released on the Google Play store in 2022, Epic still slammed the tech giant for discouraging third-party app downloads.

A Win for All App Developers and Consumers"

The company said that the verdict proves how Google stifles competition, reduces innovation, and extracts hefty fees by abusing its monopoly. Epic also praised the regulations that were being developed to limit Apple and Google's dominant app marketplace practices.

Calling the court ruling a win for all app developers and consumers around the world", Epic games wrote in a statement.

Google, however, said in a statement that the tech giant plans to challenge the verdict. Claiming that Google Play and Android offer the most openness and choice among the different platforms, Google's VP of Government Affairs & Public Policy Wilson White affirmed that the company will continue defending its business model.

It's worth noting that Epic Games waged a similar court battle against Apple in 2020. While it resulted in a mixed ruling, the verdict was mostly in favor of Apple.

However, the court did order Apple to open up its app marketplace by updating its app store policies such that developers would have the freedom to direct users to alternative payment options.

In September 2023, both companies requested the Supreme Court to reconsider the ruling. As of now, the outcome of Monday's ruling stands in contrast to Epic's court battle against Apple.

According to consumer advocates, the verdict is a landmark victory against one of Google's most profitable monopolies". Anil Dash, a technology entrepreneur and commentator, described the current situation as the onset of the largest reshuffling of power on the internet in the last two decades.

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