Google loses legal fight over Android app monopoly in Epic Games case
WASHINGTON: Alphabet’s Google has lost a major legal battle in the US against Epic Games, the maker of Fortnite.
The San Francisco-based 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Google’s attempt to undo a ruling that said the company unfairly controlled how Android users get their apps and make payments. The company pleaded that the trial judge made legal errors in the antitrust case that unfairly benefited Fortnite maker Epic Games, which filed the lawsuit in 2020.
The court said Google’s behaviour blocked competition and helped it stay on top. The decision is a big win for Epic, which has been fighting to open up app stores and give users more choice.
The record in Epic’s lawsuit was “replete with evidence that Google’s anti-competitive conduct entrenched its dominance,” wrote Circuit Judge M. Margaret McKeown, joined by Circuit Judges Danielle Forrest and Gabriel Sanchez.
The ruling was a blow to Google as the tech giant faces lawsuits on multiple fronts, including a case by the US Justice Department, alleging different aspects of its business violate antitrust law.
Epic in its case accused Google of monopolising how consumers access apps on Android devices and pay for transactions within apps. The Cary, North Carolina-based company convinced a San Francisco jury in 2023 that Google illegally stifled competition.
US District Judge James Donato in San Francisco ordered Google in October to restore competition by allowing users to download rival app stores within its Play store and by making Play’s app catalogue available to those competitors, among other reforms.
Donato’s order was on hold pending the outcome of the 9th Circuit appeal. The court’s decision can be appealed to the full 9th Circuit and ultimately to the US Supreme Court.
In a statement, Lee-Anne Mulholland, Google’s vice president of regulatory affairs, said the appeals court’s ruling “will significantly harm user safety, limit choice, and undermine the innovation that has always been central to the Android ecosystem.”
The company said it would continue to focus on “ensuring a secure platform as we continue our appeal.”
Epic CEO Tim Sweeney said in a social media post: “Thanks to the verdict, the Epic Games Store for Android will be coming to the Google Play Store!”
Google told the appeals court that the tech company’s Play store competes with Apple’s App Store, and that Donato unfairly barred Google from making that point to contest Epic’s antitrust claims.
The tech company also argued that a jury should never have heard Epic’s lawsuit because it sought to enjoin Google’s conduct — a request normally decided by a judge — and not collect damages.
The appeals court panel said Donato “conducted extensive proceedings before issuing the injunction and the accompanying order.”
Epic has defended the verdict and court injunction, telling the 9th Circuit judges that the Android app market has been “suffering under anti-competitive behaviour for the better part of a decade.”
In the trial court and in the appeal, Epic disputed arguments by Google that changes to its app business ordered by the court would harm user privacy and security.
Microsoft filed a brief backing Epic, as did the US Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission.
Epic separately is battling Apple over a US judge’s order requiring the iPhone maker to give developers greater freedom to steer consumers to make purchases outside its App Store.
Apple has appealed a ruling that said it violated a prior injunction in a lawsuit that Epic filed in 2020.
