In a major court win on Monday, a jury ruled that Google violated antitrust laws by imposing fees and restricting competition for Epic Games and other developers on its Play mobile app store. This decision could have significant implications for businesses earning through Google's Android operating system.
After a little over three hours of discussion, a federal jury of nine unanimously sided with Epic Games in a month-long trial, marking a crucial development in their three-year legal dispute.
The San Francisco-based jury found that Epic Games, the creator of the popular game Fortnite, effectively showed that Google held a monopoly in the smartphone app store market. They identified evidence of anti-competitive behavior that harmed the video game maker.
Consequently, Google may need to revise its Play Store rules, potentially allowing other companies to introduce competing app stores. This change could also make it easier for developers to avoid the fees Google charges for in-app purchases. The final decision on addressing Google's conduct will be made by Judge James Donato early next year.
Throughout the trial, Google's legal team and executives argued that they competed with Apple's more popular App Store, making it impractical to claim a monopoly over Android. The jury's decision is a win for Epic Games, which has been striving for years to reduce the influence Google and Apple have in the mobile app ecosystem.
This victory comes two years after Epic Games mostly lost a similar case against Apple, a decision both parties are currently appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court.
In filing the 2020 case against Google, Epic aimed to retain a larger share of the revenue from in-app purchases and introduce an app store to compete with Play on the Android system.
Notably, Google faced Epic's claims while simultaneously defending itself in another antitrust trial in Washington, D.C. The Department of Justice and numerous states accused the company of unlawfully maintaining a search and advertising monopoly, a case that could reshape the tech industry when decided next year.
On the Play Store, Google charges app makers a 15% fee for customer payments related to app subscriptions and up to 30% for purchases within popular apps downloaded from the store. Google asserts that 99% of developers qualify for a fee of 15% or lower on in-app purchases.
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