On November 6th, a jury trial is set to begin in the Northern District of California for the antitrust case against Google brought by Epic Games and Match Group. Both companies accuse Google of abusing its control over Android app distribution through the Play Store by imposing unfair fees and requirements for in-app purchases. This case is in addition to a lawsuit from 39 attorneys general and a customer class action suit seeking $4.7 billion in damages.
Epic Games filed the initial lawsuit against Google in 2020, after the company removed Fortnite from the Play Store for allowing customers to use an alternative in-app payment system. Match Group later filed a suit against Google over the “exorbitant” store fee. The companies have consolidated their cases and filed a motion to expand their allegations, accusing Google of further antitrust violations by paying major developers hundreds of millions of dollars to keep their apps in the Play Store.
Unlike Epic’s partially successful lawsuit against Apple, this case acknowledges that customers do have a choice when it comes to Android app distribution. While Apple requires all regular app downloads to go through the App Store, Android’s sideloading option allows customers to install software without downloading it from Google. However, the issue is that these apps are harder to install and less likely to be discovered when the Play Store is included by default on many Android phones.
Google denies any misuse of power and argues that the fees are necessary to maintain and invest in the Play Store. The company claims that its incentive program does not prohibit developers from launching third-party stores and that its portal competes fairly. In December, Google requested the court to deny the expanded requests due to timing and other issues.
In an effort to address the concerns, Google has implemented a test program for Play Store billing alternatives, although the pilot still includes a cut of each transaction for Google. The outcome of this case remains uncertain, and it will be interesting to see if these concessions will be enough to satisfy the court and regulators. Google is currently facing a number of other antitrust cases, including a Justice Department lawsuit from 2020, and even if it prevails in this case, it may not escape unscathed.
