In a bold move, Epic Games has filed a lawsuit against Google and Samsung, accusing the tech giants of teaming up to block third-party competition in app distribution on Samsung devices.
At the heart of the dispute is Samsung's \"Auto Blocker\" feature, which is enabled by default and restricts app installations to authorized sources like the Samsung Galaxy Store or Google Play Store. While users can disable this feature in their phone settings, Epic argues that the default setting severely limits consumer choice and stifles competition.
The lawsuit, filed in San Francisco federal court, marks Epic's second legal challenge against Google. The company, best known for its hit game \"Fortnite\", claims that the Auto Blocker is designed to reinforce Google's dominance in the Android app market, preventing rivals from gaining a foothold.
\"Allowing this coordinated illegal anti-competitive dealing to proceed hurts developers and consumers and undermines both the jury's verdict and regulatory and legislative progress around the world,\" Epic Games stated on its website.
In response, Samsung defended its practices, emphasizing that the Auto Blocker is intended to protect users from malicious activities and maintain device security. \"The features integrated into our devices are designed in accordance with Samsung's core principles of security, privacy, and user control,\" Samsung said. They also mentioned that users have the option to disable Auto Blocker at any time.
Epic's legal battle with Google isn't the first of its kind. In December, Epic won an antitrust lawsuit against Google, where a jury found that Google's Android app store had anti-competitive barriers affecting both consumers and developers.
Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney expressed his frustration on X, formerly known as Twitter, stating, \"Literally no store can compete with the incumbents when disadvantaged in this way. To have true competition, all reputable stores and apps must be free to compete on a level playing field.\"
The outcome of this lawsuit could have significant implications for the future of app distribution on Android devices, potentially reshaping the competitive landscape and offering more choices to consumers worldwide.
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