Epic Games accuses Samsung and Google of planning to block app rivals
Fortnite video game maker Epic Games on Monday accused Alphabet’s Google and Samsung, the world’s largest Android phone maker, of conspiring to protect Google’s Play Store from competition.
Epic said it would file a lawsuit in U.S. federal court in California, alleging that a Samsung mobile security feature called Auto Blocker was intended to prevent users from downloading apps from sources other than the Play Store or the Galaxy Store. Samsung, which the Korean company chose to place on the rear burner.
Samsung and Google are violating US antitrust law by limiting consumer choice and preventing competition that would make apps cheaper, according to the US Epic, which is backed by China’s Tencent.
“It’s about unfair competition by misleading users into thinking competitors’ products are inferior to the company’s own products,” Epic Chief Executive Tim Sweeney told reporters.
“Google pretends to protect the user by saying you shouldn’t install apps from unknown sources. Google knows what Fortnite is as they have distributed it in the past.”
Google did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Samsung said it planned to “vigorously dispute Epic Game’s baseless claims.”
Epic said Samsung’s Auto Blocker is designed to soften the impact of a US judgment Epic won against Google in December 2023 that is expected to force the company to make apps more easily available from other sources.
Epic said it will also raise its competition concerns with regulators in the European Union, which has long scrutinized Google’s business practices.
Epic had previously dealt with Google and Apple over their rules to charge up to 30 percent commission on app store payments. After being banned for almost four years, it was available again last month on iPhones in the European Union and globally on Google’s Android devices.
Samsung introduced Auto Blocker to its smartphones in late 2023 as an opt-in feature to protect users from downloading apps that may contain malware. Epic said Samsung made Auto Blocker the default setting in July and deliberately made it difficult to disable or bypass.
Cary, North Carolina-based Epic Games sued Google in 2020, claiming it suppressed competition through its control over app distribution and payments.
© Thomson Reuters 2024
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