For the second time, Epic is pursuing a lawsuit against Google, with the trigger being a similar issue as before. Previously, the companies faced off with a jury verdict determining Google’s monopolistic control of its store illegal, thus allowing Epic to debut its own store on Android devices.
Without a doubt, Epic has aimed to maximize the benefits from this decision. However, based on Epic’s latest release, Google and fellow tech giant, Samsung, have posed significant barriers. The release outlines Epic’s intent to initiate legal proceedings against the two entities for their “collaborative efforts to hamper competition in app distribution on Samsung devices”.
Epic points out the use of a default-enabled Auto Blocker feature that “establishes the Google Play Store as the only practical source for apps on Samsung devices” by blocking competing stores. The lawsuit furthermore alleges that Samsung purposely integrated this feature as a strategic move in partnership with Google to sidestep the court directive.
The remaining parts of the statement delve into the nature of the Auto Blocker, its legality and even lists out the 21-step process that Samsung users have to go through to download an app not available on the Google Play Store or Samsung Galaxy Store. It further reveals Google’s history of “paying OEMs billions to thwart competition.” The statement concludes by outlining what Epic hopes to achieve – the court’s intervention to stop Samsung and Google from using Auto Blocker to stifle competition, and more so, insisting that Samsung disable this feature by default.
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