The case was heard by the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. As The Register has reported, the matter tested Epic’s allegations that Google stifles competition by requiring developers to pay it commissions even if they use third-party payment services, and paid some developers to secure their exclusive presence on the Play store.
The case commenced in early November and on Monday a nine-member jury found in Epic’s favor.
As it was a jury case, the reasoning was not revealed.
Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney thanked the jurors anyway in a post that declared “Today’s verdict is a win for all app developers and consumers around the world.”
Sweeney wrote that the verdict “proves that Google’s app store practices are illegal and they abuse their monopoly to extract exorbitant fees, stifle competition and reduce innovation.”
In Sweeney’s telling, the jurors heard “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.”
Google denies such skulduggery and in statement reported by Axios vowed to appeal on grounds that the search and ads giant faces strong competition from Apple and rival app stores for Android.
[…]
The Apple case produced some small wins for Epic. But the Google decision is … erm … Epic, as it appears to be a full-throated declaration that the Play store is a monopoly.
The case will return to court in early 2024, when the presiding judge will consider remedies – which could include forcing Google to offload the Play store.
But this is far from the end of the matter – both for Epic Games and for the wider issue of tech monopolies.
[…]
legislators are increasingly taking action to erode Big Tech’s power, with the UK’s Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Bill, and the EU’s Digital Markets Act his exemplars of such activity. ®
Source: Jury finds Google’s Play store is illegal monopoly • The Register
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