Cary’s Epic Games is suing Google again – this time also Samsung. Here’s why.

While a federal judge considers what remedial steps Google must take to remove anti-competitive barriers in the Play Store, Cary’s Epic Games has accused the online search giant of finding a new way to protect its Android app store monopoly.

In a complaint filed Monday in the Northern District of California, the North Carolina-based video game maker accused Google and Samsung of colluding to make it harder for Android owners to use third-party app stores like the Epic Games Store. Epic Games’ latest lawsuit concerns a Samsung program called Auto Blocker, which prevents users from downloading applications from sources other than the Google Play Store or Samsung Galaxy Store.

The Auto Blocker feature takes into account both authorized Play Store and Galaxy Store platforms, but Epic says the latter does not pose legitimate competition, writing that Samsung’s Galaxy Store “is the source of only about 1% of Android app downloads.”

“Auto Blocker is virtually guaranteed to cement Google’s dominance over Android app distribution by preventing third-party app stores like the Epic Games Store from reaching large audiences on Android,” wrote Epic Games, makers of the popular game Fortnite. In its complaint, Epic stated that Fortnite currently has 800 million user accounts.

Samsung introduced auto-lock in fall 2023 as a security feature that users needed to take advantage of. Then on July 11, about six months after a jury found Google guilty of violating antitrust law by entering into agreements to stifle competition on the Play Store, Samsung switched the Auto Block feature to launch automatically on devices. Android users who try to download apps from sources other than the Play Store or Galaxy Store see a screen that says “to keep your phone and data safe, auto-block prevents unknown apps from being installed.”

Users can remove the program via phone settings.

In a statement to The News & Observer, Samsung said it intends to “strongly dispute Epic Games’ baseless claims.” The South Korean company said the Auto Blocker feature exists to promote user security, noting that “the features integrated into our devices are designed in line with Samsung’s core principles of security, privacy and user control.”

In comments posted on X on Monday, Google vice president of engineering Dave Kleidermacher said: “Epic’s latest lawsuit is a baseless and dangerous move.”

“Google did not ask Samsung to create an auto-blocking feature,” he added.

Epic’s Case vs. Apple and Google’s Progress

This week’s lawsuit is not the first that Epic Games has filed against Google. In August 2020, Epic co-founder and CEO Tim Sweeney filed a lawsuit against Google and Apple, arguing that both companies used anti-competitive policies to maintain monopolies in their app stores on Android and iPhone, respectively. Apple and Google charge fees ranging from 15% to 30% on in-app digital transactions.

Apple largely won a case brought by Epic against the iPhone app store, although U.S. District Court Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ruled that Apple can no longer prevent app developers from directing users to third-party payment platforms that can charge lower fees. This week, Apple asked the court to throw out that part of the ruling.

Apple and Epic continue to argue over how Apple has complied with Rogers’ ruling. In January, Apple announced that it would charge lead App Store developers in the US a 27% fee on sales of digital goods and services made through third-party payment systems. Apple called these costs “a reasonable way to account for the significant value Apple provides to developers, including by facilitating related transactions.”

Sweeney called Apple’s actions a travesty and challenged them in court. On Monday, Apple passed the deadline to produce 1.3 million documents in connection with its compliance plan.

Unlike Apple, Google’s initial lawsuit against Epic Games was resolved by a nine-member jury, which unanimously found in December that Google used anti-competitive tactics in its Play Store that harmed smartphone consumers and software developers. Google said at the time that it planned to appeal the ruling once the judge presiding over the case issues remedial measures.

In August, Justice James Donato said his upcoming decision on what actions Google must take to correct its app store policies would include significant changes.

“We’re going to tear down barriers, that’s what’s going to happen,” Donato said. “The world that exists today is the product of monopolistic behavior. This world is changing.”

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