Google is indeed guilty of abuse of a dominant position. It was a Californian court which ruled very recently.
This is the conclusion of a long and painful episode for Google. In the lawsuit against Epic Games (the studio behind Fortnite), Google was found guilty of abuse of a dominant position. A hard blow for the company which, for years, sought to prove that its software distribution system was in no way designed to reinforce any monopoly.
An illegal “Google tax”
Let’s go back a little. Three years ago, Epic Games filed a complaint against Google (and Apple) for abuse of dominant position. In the viewfinder, the web giant’s habit of charging a commission on all purchases made within applications listed on the Play Store. For Epic, which makes its money by selling lots of technical and aesthetic improvements to Fortnite, this “Google tax” amounted to an abuse of a dominant position.
And after a very long legal process, it seems that justice has ruled in favor of the studio. In an opinion rendered on December 11, 2023, the court ruled that “Google deliberately acquired or maintained monopolistic status by engaging in anticompetitive behavior” who has “harmed» at Epic Games. A victory without appeal for the studio which welcomed that justice finally recognizes the existence of “exorbitant fees» on the Play Store which “stifle competition and hinder innovation“.
On top of that, Google was also found guilty “unreasonable obstruction of free trade» by establishing illicit alliances in order to prevent application developers from looking anywhere other than the Play Store. In the subtext, we perceive the specter of the agreement concluded with Spotify, which assured the streaming platform an advantageous and unprecedented levy rate for an app listed on the Play Store. The obligation for an Android manufacturer wanting to benefit from Google services to integrate the Play Store was also seen as further proof of Google’s monopolistic behavior.
Google wants to appeal
For the moment, Epic Games’ victory is mainly symbolic. Measures to counter this abuse of dominant position will be decided next month. No doubt Google will have to implement an alternative billing method within Android to hit the nail on the head. A decision which will in any case be welcome since the European DSA wants to push for more freedom in the mobile app distribution market.
For its part, Google said it wanted to appeal the decision, explaining that “theThe Android phones cannot compete with the iPhone if they do not have an application department store.»
Source : United States District Court via Ars Technica
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