Google has been found guilty of monopolizing the Android app store following a successful lawsuit by Epic Games. The jury concluded that Google had monopolized the "Android app distribution market" and "Android in-app billing services".
In an article posted by National Law Review, it was revealed that Epic Games had sued Google for preventing the company from establishing its own store and payment processing for its games' sales on the Android play store. Similar allegations were brought against Apple by Epic Games, but they did not succeed as a judge ruled against them. In 2020, Epic allowed Fortnite players to purchase software directly from them, bypassing Google's fees collection on any purchases made through the app store. By doing so, Epic violated DDA restrictions in 2020, leading to Google removing the game from its app store shortly after. However, the jury concluded that Epic had provided sufficient evidence to prove antitrust markets' existence and that Google knowingly created a monopoly through the Android app store.
The article further reported that Google intends to challenge the verdict, which would then be taken up by the Ninth Circuit. Interestingly, it was this same Ninth Circuit that dismissed Epic Game's antitrust claims against Apple. Google contended that its app store could not be considered a monopoly due to competitor Apple's iOS and Apple App Store's popularity. Despite licensing the Android operating system to third parties like Samsung and providing users with opportunities to purchase and install apps outside of its play store, Google was still found guilty in the antitrust case.
The Guardian reported another twist in this legal saga - Google's own actions may have hurt its case against Epic Games. It emerged during proceedings that some of Google's employees and executives used a chat feature for corporate communications designed to automatically delete all messages within 24 hours of sending them. This comes as Google is also embroiled in a separate antitrust trial against the Department of Justice. During this trial, Judge Donato expressed frustration with Google's handling of documents and the evasive nature of executives' responses on the stand.
