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'Fortnite' maker Epic Games is battling Google in court over app-store fees 2 years after largely losing a similar case against Apple

https://www.businessinsider.com/fortnite-maker-epic-games-battles-google-over-app-store-fees-2023-11

Epic Games is taking aim at the commissions that Google charges on digital purchases made within a mobile app.

'Fortnite' maker Epic Games is battling Google in court over app-store fees 2 years after largely losing a similar case against Apple::Epic Games is taking aim at the commissions that Google charges on digital purchases made within a mobile app.

9 comments

NotMyOldRedditName

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I feel like they're going to have a monumentally more difficult time on this one considering Android supports other playstores.

dynamojoe

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...and sideloading. That's a thing on Android, right? Can't Epic just make their own store for Android anyway?

Solarius

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they already have

JohnEdwa

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And direct sideloading. Epic could offer the apk on their own site and process the payments directly themselves for free. It mostly seems they are complaining customers won't buy as much stuff if they can't use google pay, and they don't want to offer it because it's too expensive, which is inconvenient sure, but I don't see it being enough to sue and win.

NotMyOldRedditName

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I think the problem with side loading and other stores are the saftey warnings google shows discouraging others from installing them.

Maybe something will come out of that to make it less scary if they go through some process?

iforgotmyinstance

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Have they exhausted the appeals on the original case? Cus now they're up against precedent which they themselves established.

bjoern_tantau

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No, they're appealing. That's not settled. And fuck Epic, but this practice has to end. Luckily the EU is finally doing that. And I hope it will go to consoles as well.

TenderfootGungi

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The fee is standard across many industries, including attorneys.

autotldr

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This is the best summary I could come up with:

The latest threat will unfold in a San Francisco federal court, where a 10-person jury will decide whether Google's digital payment processing system in the Play Store, which distributes apps for phones running on its Android software, has been illegally driving up prices for consumers and developers.

The trial before U.S. District Judge James Donato is scheduled to last until just before Christmas and include testimony from longtime Google executive Sundar Pichai, who is now CEO of the company's parent, Alphabet Inc.

Pichai recently took the witness stand in Washington D.C., during an antitrust trial pitting Google's long-running dominance of internet search against the U.S. Justice Department's attempt to undercut it on the grounds that the company has been abusing its power to stifle competition and innovation.

Much like Apple did in its trial, Google defends its commissions as a way to be compensated for all money that it invests into its Play Store and asserts that the controls over it are a way to protect the security of the tens of millions of people in the U.S. who download apps for phones powered by Android.

Google initially was going to have to defend itself against multiple foes in the trial, but in September it settled allegations that had been brought against the Play Store by state attorneys general and just last week resolved a case being pursued by Match Group, the owner of Tinder and other online dating services.

Epic CEO Tim Sweeney skewered the "user choice billing" option as a sham in a social media post vowing to fight Google in court.

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