Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney has always worried that his company’s victory last year in a multimillion-dollar legal battle with app store monopoly Google wouldn’t be enough to open up competition. Even if Google could no longer keep alternative markets outside of Android, phone makers could make access to them more hard. In a U.S. lawsuit filed today, Epic alleges that Google secretly cooperated with Samsung to do just that.
According to Epic, which also develops apps, some newer Samsung phones require changing settings to install apps from the internet, such as Epic’s app marketplace. Fortnite AND Rocket racing. This requirement went into effect by default in July, and Epic launched its app store in August. Samsung claims to have this feature this is called Autoblocker protects against “applications from unauthorized sources” and “malicious activity”. However, Epic says it is extending the installation process from 15 to 21 steps. The company says it has found in the past that the greater the number of obstacles, the fewer people completed the process.
“This is not about reasonable measures to protect users from malware,” Sweeney told reporters at a briefing before filing the lawsuit. “It’s about hindering competition.”
Google and Samsung did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit Epic said it filed against them in federal court in San Francisco.
The action builds on Epic’s actions in 2020 to provide mobile users with more choice and augment profits. While downloading apps anywhere from almost any source is generally simple on desktops and laptops, Apple and Google apply warnings and various policies and technical restrictions to make users download apps from the iOS App Store and Google Play, resulting in huge profits for users technology giants thanks to the sales commissions they collect.
Through a lawsuit, Epic obtained a diminutive concession from Apple that is still being fought over; Penalties against Google are expected soon.
At the press conference, Sweeney admitted that Epic has no clear evidence that Google and Samsung cooperated in implementing the Auto Blocker function. But emails and notes presented by Epic during last year’s jury trial against Google showed that the search company regularly engaged in discussions with Samsung aimed at restricting competition. Google has denied these accusations.
Earlier this month, Sweeney contacted two senior Samsung executives and asked them to rethink their approach to Auto Blocker and enable a smoother process for downloading legitimate software. Sweeney said a win-win solution for all developers could not be reached, prompting the lawsuit. “We will continue to fight until equal opportunities are provided,” he says. He added that suing Samsung, which has promoted Epic’s offering in the past, “sucks.”
Sweeney says Epic has seen more than 10 million installs of its mobile app store, but is brief of its goal of reaching 100 million by the end of the year. He believes the auto-locking feature and other fresh obstacles have, in his opinion, weakened Epic’s ability to gain traction. And its focus on fighting Apple and Google is costing Epic significant sums, with no end to the dispute in sight. “The benefits will only come in the future when the obstacles are actually removed,” he says.