Epic Games in simultaneous lawsuits against two tech giants
Epic is now suing Google for their removal of Fortnite from the Google Play Store after Epic introduced a discount that allowed players to pay Epic directly, cutting Google out of the usual 30% fee they take from all transactions in their store.
This comes only a day later from Epic’s original lawsuit against Apple, who also removed Fortnite from their App Store for the very same reasons Google did, which were flagrant violations of app store terms. Both lawsuits cite the respective App Store owners as “anti-competitive” and “monopolistic.”
Just as Epic accused Apple of knowingly and maliciously suppressing healthy competition, so too has Epic charged Google in much the same way. Per the lawsuit, Epic claims, “Google has deliberately and systematically closed the Android ecosystem to competition, breaking the promises it made.”
What are these promises, you may ask? Well, according to the lawsuit, they’re none other than Google’s own motto, “Don’t be evil” And “it’s also about doing the right thing more generally.” However, to be fair, this was way back in 1998 before Google had any inkling of the information and media juggernaut they would become.
But today, in the year 2020, Epic directly accuses Google of, “Using its size to do evil upon competitors, innovators, customers, and users,” while simultaneously monopolizing as many markets as possible – especially the android mobile ecosystem. The lawsuit’s inflammatory language reminds me of a quote from a two-faced district attorney, “You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.”
Android users have the luxury of choice when it comes to storefronts, and even though Fortnite was removed from the Play Store, they could still download it from Epic’s own store. Which makes Google inclined to disagree with Epic’s accusations because unlike Apple, third-party developers can distribute their apps outside of Google’s official Play Store. Plus, it’s no secret that the criteria for entry onto Google’s roster are much laxer than the strict expectations Apple is known for.
Epic’s lawsuit alleges that even though Android is an open environment for anyone to take advantage of, Google goes out of its way to make distribution outside of the Play Store as difficult and frustrating as possible. Epic’s chief accusation in this regard is Google’s use if it’s Developer Distribution Agreement (DDA). Google’s DDA prevents the listing of any application on its Play Store whose purpose it is to distribute apps/programs itself “without any technological or other justification.”
Epic also argues that they’ve been damaged by Google’s restriction of “additional platforms on which more apps could be featured, and thereby, discovered by consumers,” a massive loss of opportunity according to the lawsuit. This coincides with another complaint from Epic decrying Google’s restriction of advertising tools, such as Google itself and everything they own, to only those apps on the Play Store.
The lawsuit goes on to outline more of Google’s unethical practices toward consumers and developers alike, and like their lawsuit with Apple Epic again refrains from seeking monetary damages, “but rather only an order enjoining Google from continuing to impose its anti-competitive conduct on the Android ecosystem.”
Epic has dug itself into a two-front war against two of the biggest, most prolific, most world-influencing technologic firms in history. However, Epic itself is no small-fry, raking in $1.8 billion in 2019 alone. Still, it remains to be seen what will become of the litigation and if Epic can achieve its true motives, hidden or otherwise.
